National News (10/09/2026): IIT Madras-incubated space-tech startup GalaxEye is working to transform the global Earth observation industry with its indigenous OptoSAR technology, a system designed to combine optical imaging with radar capabilities. The company has raised $4.8 million and is preparing to develop a satellite constellation of 30 spacecraft by 2030, with an eye on rapidly expanding demand from commercial, agricultural and defence applications.
GalaxEye Co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh, while speaking on Young Turks Reloaded, explained the journey behind the technology, the challenges faced during the startup’s early years and the company’s plans to establish an Indian presence in the global Earth observation market.
Combining Optical Imaging With Radar
The idea for GalaxEye’s technology emerged from a practical challenge that Singh encountered during his time in corporate research and development at TCS after graduating from IIT Madras.
While working on a project to assess forest-fire damage in California, Singh found that conventional optical satellite images became difficult to use when smoke covered the affected areas. Radar imagery, meanwhile, could penetrate such conditions but did not provide the kind of visually clear information required for easy interpretation.
This led the team to explore a hybrid approach that could bring together the strengths of both technologies.
GalaxEye’s OptoSAR system combines optical and radar data, including information from the visible spectrum as well as microwave and radio-wave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The objective is to produce high-quality imagery that remains useful even during nighttime, heavy cloud cover and other difficult observation conditions.
The company says its technology has been patented in India and the United States and represents a new approach to satellite-based Earth observation.
IIT Madras Connection and the Birth of GalaxEye
GalaxEye’s founding team of five members first came together at IIT Madras while participating in a competition to develop Hyperloop pods associated with SpaceX. The team finished among the top 10 participants, despite entering the competition as first-time competitors.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the founders left their corporate jobs and began working on the idea from a rented three-bedroom apartment in Chennai. The living room was converted into an electronics testing and development space as the team started building the technology that would eventually become the foundation of GalaxEye.
The company initially planned to develop its sensor technology for aircraft. However, regulatory challenges forced the team to reconsider the approach and move the technology onto drones.
The change created another engineering problem because drone platforms introduced significant vibration and movement. Instead of abandoning the project, the team developed its own motion-compensation algorithms and conducted extensive testing.
According to Singh, the technology was ultimately validated through more than 400 drone flights, allowing the company to overcome the challenges associated with platform movement.
Drishti Mission Faces Major Setback After Falcon-9 Launch
GalaxEye reached another major milestone on May 3, 2026, when its approximately 190-kg Drishti satellite was launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket.
Although the spacecraft successfully reached orbit, the mission subsequently encountered a series of technical problems related to deployment. The GalaxEye team began working continuously from its headquarters to address the issues and recover the mission.
As part of the recovery strategy, the spacecraft was intentionally allowed to tumble for around 18 to 20 days. This was done to enable its solar panels to recharge batteries that had been significantly depleted while engineers worked through the deployment-related problems.
The situation became even more challenging when a severe geomagnetic solar storm affected the spacecraft. The storm damaged integrated circuits and eventually resulted in the loss of communication with the satellite.
The team waited for approximately three days to determine whether automated fail-safe systems could restore communication. However, despite efforts involving the company and advisors from ISRO, the signal was ultimately confirmed to be permanently lost.
Mission Drishti Gen-II Under Development
Despite losing the satellite, GalaxEye has treated the mission as an important technological validation exercise rather than the end of its programme.
The company estimates that around 80–85% of the spacecraft’s onboard systems were successfully flight-validated. At the same time, commercial interest in the technology remained strong, with the company saying that its imaging capacity had already been pre-booked through the following April.
The startup subsequently moved ahead with Mission Drishti Generation-II, beginning development work by June 10.
The second-generation mission is expected to require approximately 20 to 24 months for development. GalaxEye has also changed its operational strategy by increasing the amount of satellite development it controls internally.
As part of this approach, the company acquired satellite-bus developer StarOps and established a larger facility outside Bengaluru. The objective is to reduce dependence on external suppliers while gaining greater control over product quality, engineering decisions and delivery schedules.
GalaxEye Plans 30 Satellites by 2030
GalaxEye’s long-term ambition goes beyond launching an individual satellite.
A single satellite can revisit a particular location only once every several days. However, industries such as agriculture, defence, infrastructure and commercial intelligence increasingly require much more frequent observations.
GalaxEye estimates that a 30-satellite constellation would allow it to potentially generate imagery of locations across the globe at intervals of approximately three hours.
The company has therefore set a target of building and deploying 30 satellites by 2030.
The planned constellation is expected to support applications where frequent and reliable Earth observation is important, including agricultural monitoring, infrastructure assessment, commercial intelligence, disaster response and defence requirements.
Focus on Indian Technology Leadership
GalaxEye is positioning itself not simply as a lower-cost alternative in the satellite-imaging market, but as an Indian technology company seeking to compete at the global level.
The startup has raised early-stage capital and plans additional fundraising to support the development and launch of its next two satellites. Its broader objective is to use its proprietary OptoSAR technology to establish a significant position in the international Earth observation market.
The company believes the combination of optical-quality imagery and radar-based sensing could address a major limitation in conventional satellite imaging, particularly when observations are required during nighttime or under cloud and weather conditions.
PM Modi Asked About Team’s Morale After Mission Setback
Singh also recalled his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his appearance on Mann Ki Baat.
According to Singh, rather than focusing immediately on the technical failure or asking about the next launch schedule, the Prime Minister asked about the condition and morale of the team.
The question, “Team ki manasthiti kaisi hai?” — referring to how the team was coping — had a strong impact on Singh and the wider organisation.
GalaxEye currently has a team of around 150 people. Singh said the interaction reinforced the importance of maintaining team confidence and concentrating on the engineering challenges ahead.
For GalaxEye, the loss of Drishti has become part of a larger learning curve. With much of its technology already validated in orbit and the next-generation mission under development, the company is now working toward its larger goal of building an Indian satellite-imaging platform capable of competing in the global market.
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