Bengaluru‑based space startup GalaxEye Space has successfully launched its first satellite, “Mission Drishti,” marking the deployment of India’s largest privately built commercial satellite. The 160–190 kg spacecraft, named Drishti, lifted off on May 3, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon‑9 rocket from SLC‑4E in California, in a milestone that underscores the growing strength of India’s private space sector.
Mission Drishti is the world’s first OptoSAR imaging satellite, combining optical, multi‑spectral and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors on a single platform. This “SyncFused OptoSAR” architecture allows the satellite to capture high‑resolution images day and night, even through clouds, smoke, or heavy rain, overcoming a major limitation of conventional optical Earth‑observation systems. Target resolution is reported to be around 1.2–1.5 metres per pixel, putting it among the more capable commercial imaging platforms of its class.
The satellite also features onboard AI processing, powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin computing hardware, enabling it to preprocess much of its data directly in orbit before downlinking. This reduces the load on ground stations and accelerates delivery of actionable insights to users in defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime surveillance, and infrastructure planning.
GalaxEye now plans to expand Drishti into a broader constellation, with the company aiming to deploy 8–10 satellites by the late 2020s as part of its goal to build an orbital data centre and sustainably serve both Indian and global customers. The successful launch of Mission Drishti positions India as a serious player in the global commercial Earth‑observation market and highlights how homegrown startups are now contributing to space‑based intelligence beyond traditional government‑run programmes.
