Kamal Ghorui
BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye has signed a channel partnership agreement with Space PSU NewSpace India Limited (Nsil), marking the first time the State-owned company has partnered with a domestic private player to distribute satellite data.Under the agreement, Nsil will resell high-resolution OptoSAR data generated by GalaxEye’s own satellites. GalaxEye’s upcoming spacecraft will be folded into what the founder described as a “virtual constellation”, allowing Nsil to plug data gaps in its current offerings.“Nsil will resell our data. From now on, whatever satellites we launch, Nsil becomes a reseller for that data,” GalaxEye co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh told TOI.The first satellite — “Drishti” — in GalaxEye’s planned 10-satellite constellation is scheduled to leave for launch on Feb 25. The company plans to deploy all 10 spacecraft over the next four years. The current agreement is structured to cover the entire planned constellation, meaning Nsil can distribute data from each satellite as it comes online.In practical terms, Nsil will function as an extended sales arm for the start-up. It will be able to market raw data as well as downstream products built by GalaxEye. The arrangement also allows Nsil to directly sell the satellite data to its own customer base, which includes govt agencies and commercial clients.Drishti, which is expected to launch aboard a SpaceX mission, weighs 160-kg and is pegged to be India’s largest privately built commercial satellite. While GalaxEye, through contracts with Ananth Technologies and XDLINX procured the satellite bus, the firm said the spacecraft will carry its proprietary “SyncFused OptoSAR” technology, combining optical and synthetic aperture radar data on a single platform.About one cubic metre in size with a 3.5-metre deployable antenna, Drishti will offer 1.5-metre resolution imagery and a global revisit time of seven to ten days. The data is aimed at defence, border surveillance, disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, agriculture, and financial risk assessment.GalaxEye has completed around 500 aerial test flights and earlier flew a payload on Isro’s PSLV mission. The structural model was recently tested at Isro’s UR Rao Satellite Centre.The start-up is in discussions with Indian defence and agriculture ministries and has signed letters of intent with partners in over 20 countries. It plans to scale up its future satellites, targeting 0.5-metre resolution in future versions.“With recent geopolitical events increasing, we look forward to providing unparalleled imagery intelligence. We already have interest from defence and security agencies, utilities, agriculture, and financial companies and we are truly excited about the potential of this technology to transform decision-making and operational efficiency across industries,” Singh had earlier told TOI.
