SpaceX Launches India’s Drishti, World’s First OptoSAR Satellite

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched Bengaluru-based startup GalaxEye’s Drishti satellite — the world’s first OptoSAR satellite — from Vandenberg, California on May 3, 2026. This marks India’s largest privately developed Earth observation satellite, capable of all-weather, day-and-night imaging. 

An OptoSAR satellite is a next‑generation Earth observation system that fuses Electro‑Optical (EO) imaging with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on a single platform, enabling sharp, intuitive pictures even at night or through clouds, smoke, and rain. In short, it’s a “super camera in space” designed for all‑weather, day‑night monitoring.

Key Highlights

Space X Falcon 9 of Elon Musk launch The World's First OPTOSAR satellite built by an Indian Firm is now in orbit.
This platform combines Multi Spectral Imagery (MSI) with SAR imagery and produces high quality images which can be immensely useful for defence purposes.

This… pic.twitter.com/gIJ3XJIhLF

— TheGlobalDecoder (@TGD_06) May 3, 2026

• Launch Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
• Launch Site: Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA
• Satellite Mass: ~190 kg
• Developer: GalaxEye, Bengaluru-based startup founded by IIT Madras alumni
• Unique Feature: First satellite globally to integrate EO and SAR sensors (OptoSAR technology)

Why OptoSAR Matters

• EO Sensors: High-resolution, photo-like images but limited by clouds/darkness
• SAR Sensors: Penetrate clouds, smoke, rain, and work at night
• OptoSAR Fusion: Combines both streams for consistent, actionable imagery

Applications of Drishti

Sector	Use Case	Advantage
Defence & Border Security	Surveillance, monitoring	Persistent, all-weather intelligence
Disaster Response	Floods, cyclones, landslides	Imaging unaffected by cloud cover
Agriculture	Crop monitoring	Reliable seasonal data
Infrastructure & Urban Planning	Construction, insurance	High-frequency revisit (7–10 days)
Maritime Monitoring	Ship tracking	Day-night visibility

Onboard Innovations

• AI Processing in Orbit: Powered by Nvidia Jetson Orin
• Deployable Antenna: ~3.5 meters for stronger radar imaging
• Resolution: 1.2–1.5 meters imagery

India’s Space Milestone

• Largest privately built Indian satellite to date
• Complements ISRO’s fleet of 29 active Earth observation satellites

The launch of Drishti is a testament to Indian youth’s innovation and a major step in India’s space journey. — PM Narendra Modi

Takeaway: The successful launch of Drishti aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is a game-changer for India’s private space sector, positioning GalaxEye as a global leader in Earth observation.

In A Quickest Seed Raised by Indian Space Tech Startup, GalaxEye Raises $3.5 Mn Led by Speciale Invest

The fresh funding will be deployed to bolster the hiring of top talent and launch the world's first multi-sensor satellite for earth observation

GalaxEye becomes the quickest spacetech start-up in India to complete a raise of this size, which will also mark the start of commercialization with European and African customers

GalaxEye Space, a SpaceTech start-up focused on earth observation, today announced that it has successfully raised a $3.5 million round of seed round of funding led by Special Invest, a deep-tech venture capital firm.

This fundraise is historic for the India SpaceTech market given the funding amount and speed with which the round was closed. The new round also had participation from investors including Artha India Ventures, Veda VC, Anicut Capital, Upsparks and a consortium of entrepreneurs including Nithin Kamath (Founder/CEO of Zerodha), Prashant Pitti (Founder/CEO of EaseMyTrip), Abhishek Goyal (Founder/CEO of Tracxn) and Ganpathy Subramaniam (Partner at Celesta Capital). The fresh funding will help bolster the hiring of top-tier talent and accelerate the launch of the world's first multi-sensor satellite for earth observation. This will also mark the beginning of commercialization with GalaxEye customers across the US, Europe and Africa.

“We are truly the first Indian space start-up incorporated in India to build an imaging satellite and we are committed to accelerating technological innovation in India for the world,” stated Suyash Singh, Co-founder & CEO, GalaxEye Space. “I believe this is possible today with the enormous support available from ISRO, government and our global partners.”

GalaxEye Team Members (Image - https://galaxeye.space/) 

GalaxEye also announced availability of the company’s flagship product offering, featuring multi-sensor imagery via modern satellites. The data fusion technology developed in-house will bring unparalleled insights and data from space, enabling satellite constellations to perform all-weather imaging at all times without atmospheric interference typical of today’s single sensor satellites. GalaxEye’s technology will enable the production of images with extremely high resolution via a small satellite constellation that, once fully operational, will provide global coverage in under 12 hours.

“Next year is crucial for us, as we aspire to reach space with our satellite and become the leader in multi-sensor imaging for the industry, “ added Singh. “We will be seeking an additional round of funding of the order of $15-25 M in 2023 to add more satellites to our constellation as our business grows. We are grateful for the immense support and guidance from the mentors, investors, industry, and customers received so far. It’s an exciting time for GalaxEye.”

Founded in 2020, GalaxEye is the brainchild of several entrepreneurs emerging from Avishkar Hyperloop, a team of scientists brought together via global competition organized by Elon Musk’s aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company SpaceX. The team, which is now also funded by the Indian Railways, was the only Asian team represented at the finale of the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition and was also a part of the FalconX immersion program 2022, which was based in Silicon Valley, California.

“GalaxEye is one of the unique companies with the vision to democratize access to space for the small satellite market. Their team has a distinctive mix of domain strength and tenacity that will get them to space, making India self-reliant. This investment aligns with our vision of backing visionary founders with disruptive companies to solve global problems via tech innovations. We wish the team continued success hi,” said Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest.

The company previously raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round led by Speciale Invest in May 2021. This investment facilitated completing Proof of Concept and Prototype Development and Demonstration.

GalaxEye has already signed partnerships and commercial contracts with several leading organizations in the space tech ecosystem, including US-based space software provider Antaris. The company plans to continue expanding its partnerships and customer base in the coming months and has submitted a proposal to IN-SPACe seeking support from ISRO.

About GalaxEye

GalaxEye is a Space-Tech start-up building the world’s first multi-sensor earth observation satellite. They are building a constellation of indigenous micro-satellites with data fusion capabilities. They are soon launching their first satellite, denoted as "Drishti Mission". GalaxEye has spun out of team Hyperloop of Indian Institute of Technology Madras. GalaxEye features amongst the Tech30 startups of 2022 by YourStory.

For more information,
https://galaxeye.space/

About Speciale Invest

Founded in 2017 by Co-founders Vishesh Rajaram and Arjun Rao, Speciale Invest is a seed stage venture capital firm that invests in founders building technologies of tomorrow. The firm backs indigenious entrepreneurs developing and utilising disruptive technology to develop ground-breaking, novel solutions. Enterprise Software Products (arising from deep technology in Cloud, Voice & Vision ML/AI, Image Analytics, AR/VR) and Industrial Hardware Products (arising from deep technology in Propulsion tech, Robotics, Rocket engines, Lithium tech, Micro-electronics, Optical munication tech) are among the interests of the fund.