GalaxEye adds to India’s remote sensing capability, launches world’s 1st OptoSAR Satellite | India News
BENGALURU: When Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye launched its first commercial satellite, Drishti, into orbit on SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket on Sunday, it marked more than just another launch for India’s private space sector. Drishti, India’s largest privately developed Earth observation satellite, and the world’s first OptoSAR satellite, has added a rare new capability to the country’s Earth observation fleet: a satellite that can “see” through clouds, darkness and bad weather as well as capture conventional optical images. GalaxEye co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh told TOI: “This will become only the 16th remote sensing satellite available to India, placing it among a small group of spacecraft. It has capabilities considered useful for strategic and security applications, for which there are only a few satellites in orbit as of date.”Drishti is the world’s first to carry a “Synchfused OptoSar” payload, combining electro-optical imaging and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) into a single platform. Optical satellites provide conventional high-resolution images but are affected by cloud cover and darkness. Radar satellites, on the other hand, can operate day and night and can penetrate clouds, smoke and rain, although their images are difficult to interpret.By synchronizing and combining both streams of data, GalaxEye says the satellite can produce more consistent and usable images for users on the ground.The spacecraft is expected to support applications ranging from border surveillance and defense monitoring to disaster response, agriculture, infrastructure planning and insurance assessment. During floods, cyclones or landslides, for example, radar imaging can continue to operate even if cloud cover prevents optical satellites from taking pictures.“This marks a significant shift in India’s approach to Earth observation. It serves as a concrete proof of concept for reforming India’s private space sector and signals a transition from small-scale experiments to a sovereign, all-weather surveillance capability critical to national security and disaster response,” Lt. Gen., Indian Association, Lt. Gen. (Indian Association) Bhatt General, Director General A.K. (ISpA), Dr.AI processing and 1st imageAnother key feature is artificial intelligence processing powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Orion computing platform. Instead of sending large amounts of raw images back to Earth for analysis, parts of the processing will happen directly in orbit. The idea is to reduce the time it takes to convert satellite images into actionable information.GalaxEye said the satellite can provide images at 1.5 meter resolution and revisit global locations every seven to 10 days. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a compact refrigerator, also carries a deployable antenna spanning about three and a half meters.Following its successful deployment and commissioning, initial images are expected to be delivered to customers in the coming weeks. “The satellite has already generated significant interest from government and commercial stakeholders internationally, seeking access to high-quality, high-frequency Earth observation data,” GalaxEye said after the launch.After Drishti’s launch, the startup plans to build a larger constellation of 8-12 satellites over the next four years, with future versions aiming for sharper images.Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACE), India’s space regulator, said: “The steady efforts over the past five-six years to build confidence, build capacity, and commercialize India’s private space technology ecosystem are now showing tangible results. Drishti is an excellent example of this.“
