Kamal Ghorui
BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye placed its first commercial satellite — Drishti — in orbit aboard SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket on Sunday. Terming it the “world’s first OptoSAR satellite”, the firm said the launch was a milestone in the advancement of Earth observation technologies and reinforcing India’s growing capabilities in the global space sector.“Weighing 190kg, Mission Drishti is India’s largest privately developed Earth observation satellite. It is the first satellite globally to integrate Electro-Optical (EO) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, enabling all-weather, day-and-night imaging capabilities,” the firm said.Drishti, which can “see” through clouds, darkness and bad weather while also capturing conventional optical imagery, carries what the company calls a “SyncFused OptoSAR” payload, combining electro-optical imaging and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) on 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 penetrate clouds, smoke and rain, though their imagery is harder to interpret.
By synchronising and combining both streams of data, GalaxEye says the satellite can generate more consistent and usable imagery for users on the ground.The spacecraft is expected to support applications ranging from border surveillance and defence monitoring to disaster response, agriculture, infrastructure planning and insurance assessment. During floods, cyclones or landslides, for instance, radar imaging can continue functioning even when cloud cover prevents optical satellites from capturing images.“Another key feature onboard is artificial intelligence processing powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Orin computing platform. Instead of transmitting vast quantities of raw imagery back to Earth for analysis, parts of the processing will happen directly in orbit. The idea is to reduce the time taken to convert satellite imagery into actionable information,” GalaxEye co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh told TOI.GalaxEye says the satellite can deliver imagery at a resolution of 1.5 metres and revisit locations globally every seven to ten days. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a compact refrigerator, also carries a deployable antenna spanning about three-and-a-half metres.The company had earlier tested its imaging systems through nearly 500 aerial sorties involving drones, Cessna aircraft and high-altitude platforms, besides flying an earlier payload aboard an Isro PSLV mission under the POEM platform.Interest in the project has already emerged from both defence and civilian agencies. The company has said discussions have taken place with multiple Indian government departments, including defence and agriculture ministries, while agencies such as the Defence Space Agency, Indian Air Force, Army and Navy have been tracking the programme.GalaxEye has also signed distribution partnerships across more than 20 countries. Following Drishti’s launch, the startup plans to build a larger constellation of 8 to 12 satellites over the next four years, with future versions targeting even sharper imagery.
