India's biggest private satellite 'Drishti' to be launched next year
What's the story
Bengaluru-based space-tech start-up GalaxEye is gearing up to launch India's biggest privately built commercial satellite, "Drishti." The launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026 and will be a major milestone for the country's private space sector. The 160kg satellite will be launched aboard a SpaceX mission, marking a significant step in India's growing space industry.
Technological advancement
Drishti will use GalaxEye's proprietary imaging tech
Drishti will employ GalaxEye's proprietary "SyncFused OptoSAR" imaging tech, which combines optical and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data on a single platform. This is the first time such a technology has been used globally. The satellite will provide customers with advanced geospatial analysis capabilities for various applications including border surveillance, disaster management, defense utilities, and infrastructure monitoring among others.
Satellite features
Satellite will have global revisit time of 7-10 days
Drishti, which will be about one cubic meter in size with a deployable 3.5m antenna, will provide imagery at a resolution of 1.5 meters. It will also have a global revisit time of seven to 10 days. GalaxEye co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh said this level of resolution through multi-sensor fusion "is going to unlock a lot of new use cases" across sectors.
Testing phase
Extensive testing and government collaborations underway
GalaxEye has done extensive testing through around 500 aerial flights using drones, Cessna aircraft, and high-altitude platforms. The company also launched a payload on ISRO's PSLV under the POEM mission. Singh revealed that they are in talks with several government ministries including defense and agriculture for potential collaborations.