India's largest private satellite loses contact after solar storm
What's the story
Mission Drishti, the world's first OptoSAR satellite and India's largest privately developed Earth observation satellite, has lost contact with its Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye. The anomaly occurred during the final stage of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) after a geomagnetic solar storm. The company confirmed this in an update on July 7.
Storm effects
Recovery efforts are ongoing
The company said that radiation effects from the geomagnetic solar storm likely impacted a critical onboard system. This led to intermittent communication with the spacecraft and eventual loss of contact. "While recovery efforts are ongoing, the likelihood of recovery currently appears low," GalaxEye said in its update.
Mission highlights
Mission Drishti was launched on May 3
Mission Drishti was launched on May 3, 2026, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg, California. The satellite successfully established communication and completed most of its planned LEOP. It validated critical technologies, operational processes, and infrastructure required to design, build, launch, and operate advanced space systems during its active operating phase over a few weeks.
Future plans
GalaxEye plans to launch new OptoSAR satellites in 24 months
GalaxEye founder and CEO Suyash Singh said the mission has provided invaluable engineering insights that will directly strengthen future missions. "Learning from the mission, we are accelerating our transition toward bringing a significant portion of our supply chain, manufacturing and satellite development processes in-house," he added. The company plans to launch two new OptoSAR satellites in the next 24 months while expanding its in-house capabilities.