Drishti, How a Bengaluru Startup Is Giving India Its Own All-Seeing Eye in the Sky
Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye’s Mission Drishti demonstrates new capabilities being developed by India’s nascent aerospace sector. The 190-kg earth-observation satellite was placed in orbit 500 km above the earth by SpaceX’s Falcon9 rocket recently. But this is not merely another satellite launch. Drishti represents a significant breakthrough in India’s observational capability, one that could give the country strategic independence in an era where commercial imagery providers are increasingly subject to geopolitical censorship.
Drishti uses proprietary technology to combine two observational systems into a single satellite. It puts a “synthetic aperture radar” (SAR) sensor and a seven-band multispectral electro-optical (EO) imager together in what GalaxEye calls an “OptoSAR” combination. This is the first satellite to integrate EO and SAR, enabling all-weather, day-and-night imaging capabilities. This article examines the technology behind Drishti, its advantages over existing systems, its applications across defence and civilian domains, the policy environment that enabled its development, and its implications for India’s strategic autonomy.
Part I: The Problem with Optical Imagery – Clouds, Pollution, and Darkness
Earth observation satellites have long relied on electro-optical (EO) imagers—essentially, powerful cameras that take pictures in the human visual spectrum and beyond. These imagers produce stunningly detailed images, but they have a fatal flaw: they cannot see through clouds, smoke, or dust. In tropical regions like India, where cloud cover can be present 70 per cent of the time, optical satellites are often blinded exactly when they are needed most—during monsoons, cyclones, or periods of high pollution.
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) offers a solution. Radar waves penetrate clouds, smoke, and darkness. SAR can image the earth’s surface regardless of weather or time of day. However, SAR has its own limitations. The images are black and white, require significant interpretation, and lack the colour and spectral information that EO provides. Moreover, radar images can be difficult for non-experts to read.
For decades, users had to choose between the two technologies. They could either have high-quality optical images that were frequently obscured, or all-weather radar images that were harder to interpret. Drishti solves this problem by integrating both sensors on a single satellite.
Part II: The OptoSAR Breakthrough – Seeing the Same Place at the Same Time
The core innovation of Drishti is not merely putting two sensors on one satellite—it is ensuring that they look at exactly the same place at exactly the same time. This is technically challenging. EO imagers and SAR sensors have different fields of view, different pointing mechanisms, and different data processing requirements. Pointing both at the same target simultaneously requires precise engineering and sophisticated algorithms.
GalaxEye has solved this problem. Using its proprietary “OptoSAR” combination, the satellite can capture EO and SAR images of the same location simultaneously. The raw data is then processed in orbit using a programme based on Nvidia’s Jetson Orin computing platform. This onboard processing stitches together the two data streams to output high-quality images with up to 1.5 metres accuracy.
The result is the best of both worlds: the all-weather, day-and-night reliability of SAR, combined with the spectral richness and ease-of-interpretation of EO. A defence analyst can see not only where a structure is (from SAR) but also what it is made of and what colour it is (from EO). An agricultural scientist can measure not only crop height (from SAR) but also crop health (from EO).
Part III: Strategic Independence – Why Drishti Matters Beyond Technology
The strategic significance of Drishti cannot be overstated. India has long relied on commercial imagery providers such as Maxar Technologies (US) and Airbus (Europe) for high-resolution earth observation data. These providers are subject to the laws and policies of their home countries. When the Iran war began, the United States government instructed Maxar to not provide images of the conflict zone. India, which had vital interests in monitoring the region, was suddenly blind.
Drishti changes that. It is under sovereign control—Indian private enterprise, supported by Indian government agencies, producing data that cannot be censored by foreign powers. Moreover, the technology is protected by global patents, meaning that even if other entities try to replicate it, GalaxEye has first-mover advantage and legal protection.
Multiple government departments have already expressed interest, including the defence ministry, the agriculture ministry, and the Defence Space Agency. The dual-imaging system has use cases across defence (border monitoring, troop movements, infrastructure assessment), agriculture (crop health, irrigation planning, yield estimation), disaster management (flood mapping, cyclone tracking, landslide detection), maritime monitoring (ship tracking, exclusive economic zone surveillance), and infrastructure planning (urban growth, transport corridors).
Part IV: The Constellation Plan – Scaling Up for Global Competitiveness
Drishti is not a one-off experiment. GalaxEye intends to build a 10-12 satellite constellation, which would allow much more frequent revisits and broader coverage. The current satellite orbits 500 km above Earth and surveys the same regions once every four days. A constellation could reduce that to less than a day.
Subsequent iterations will sharpen resolution further to 0.3 to 0.5 metres, scaling up satellite size to 500 kg. At that resolution, individual vehicles, small structures, and even human activity become distinguishable. This would place India’s private space sector on par with the best commercial imagery providers in the world.
The company has already signed distribution partnerships across over 20 countries, even before full commissioning. This indicates strong international demand for the unique OptoSAR capability. The revenue streams from these partnerships could be significant, providing a commercial return on the investment while simultaneously enhancing India’s strategic capabilities.
Part V: The Policy Enabler – IN-SPACe and the Opening of Aerospace
GalaxEye was founded in 2021 and has raised over $20 million from investors. But the technology was developed with critical support from IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), the single-window agency for space. IN-SPACe provided access to testing infrastructure and regulatory approval, allowing a small startup to do what was once the exclusive domain of government agencies.
This is a clear validation of the policy of opening up the aerospace sector. When the government announced reforms in 2020-21, allowing private companies to build and launch satellites, there were sceptics who doubted whether Indian startups could compete with global giants. Drishti proves them wrong. A four-year-old startup built a world-first satellite, launched it on a SpaceX rocket (noting that India’s own launch vehicles continue to develop), and is now competing for global contracts.
The partnership model is also significant. Indian startups are working alongside the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), and IN-SPACe. This is not a zero-sum competition where private success means public failure. It is a collaborative ecosystem, with each player contributing its strengths: ISRO’s deep technical expertise, NSIL’s commercial mandate, IN-SPACe’s regulatory facilitation, and startups’ agility and innovation.
Part VI: Use Cases – From Defence to Disaster Management
The applications of Drishti’s dual-imaging capability span multiple domains.
Defence and security: All-weather, day-and-night surveillance of borders, monitoring of troop movements, identification of infrastructure (bunkers, airfields, missile sites), and tracking of naval vessels in the Indian Ocean Region. Unlike optical-only systems, SAR sees through cloud cover—critical during monsoons when border tensions often escalate.
Agriculture: Monitoring crop health, estimating yields, detecting water stress, planning irrigation, and assessing damage from floods or droughts. The combination of SAR (for structure and moisture) and EO (for colour and health indices) provides a comprehensive picture that neither sensor could achieve alone.
Disaster management: During floods, cloud cover is nearly universal. Optical satellites are useless. SAR sees through clouds, mapping inundated areas and guiding rescue operations. Cyclone tracking benefits from all-weather monitoring. Landslide detection and earthquake damage assessment also improve.
Maritime monitoring: Tracking ships in India’s exclusive economic zone, detecting illegal fishing, monitoring pollution, and securing strategic chokepoints such as the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz.
Infrastructure planning: Monitoring urban growth, planning transport corridors, assessing environmental impacts, and detecting illegal construction.
Conclusion: A New Eye in the Sky
Mission Drishti is a milestone. It is the first satellite to integrate EO and SAR sensors, achieving all-weather, day-and-night imaging with 1.5-metre resolution. It is under sovereign control and protected by global patents. It has already secured distribution partnerships across 20 countries. And it is the product of a four-year-old startup, supported by a policy environment that opened the aerospace sector to private enterprise.
The buildup of sovereign capability, even in the domain of private enterprise, ensures strategic independence for India. When foreign governments censor imagery of conflict zones, India can rely on Drishti. When clouds block optical satellites, Drishti sees through. When darkness falls, Drishti continues to watch.
The path ahead is clear: a 10-12 satellite constellation, sharper resolution, broader coverage, and global competitiveness. India’s space sector has entered a new era—one where startups fly alongside ISRO, and where sovereign capability is not a government monopoly but a national ecosystem. Drishti is watching. And with it, India sees clearer than ever before.
5 Questions & Answers Based on the Article
Q1. What is Mission Drishti, and who developed it?
A1. Mission Drishti is an earth-observation satellite developed by GalaxEye, a Bengaluru-based space startup. The 190-kg satellite was placed in orbit 500 km above Earth using SpaceX’s Falcon9 rocket. It is a significant breakthrough because it uses proprietary “OptoSAR” technology to combine two observational systems: a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor and a seven-band multispectral electro-optical (EO) imager on a single satellite. This is the first satellite to integrate EO and SAR, enabling all-weather, day-and-night imaging capabilities.
Q2. What are the limitations of optical-only and radar-only observation systems, and how does Drishti overcome them?
A2. Optical-only systems (EO imagers) produce high-quality, colour images but cannot see through clouds, smoke, or dust. In tropical regions like India, cloud cover is present 70 per cent of the time, making optical satellites frequently blind. Radar-only systems (SAR) penetrate clouds and work in darkness, but produce black-and-white images that require significant interpretation and lack spectral information. Drishti overcomes these limitations by integrating both sensors on one satellite and ensuring they look at the same place at the same time. Onboard processing stitches the data together, producing images that combine the all-weather reliability of SAR with the spectral richness of EO.
Q3. Why is Drishti considered strategically important for India’s independence in earth observation?
A3. India has long relied on commercial imagery providers such as Maxar (US) and Airbus (Europe), which are subject to the laws and policies of their home countries. During the Iran war, the US government instructed Maxar to not provide images of the conflict zone, leaving India blind. Drishti is under sovereign control—an Indian private enterprise producing data that cannot be censored by foreign powers. The technology is also protected by global patents. This ensures strategic independence for India, allowing it to monitor conflict zones, border areas, and maritime regions without depending on foreign providers who may restrict access for political reasons.
Q4. What role did IN-SPACe play in the development of Drishti?
A4. IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) is the single-window agency for space in India. It provided GalaxEye with access to testing infrastructure and regulatory approval, allowing a small startup to develop and launch a world-first satellite. This support is part of India’s policy of opening up the aerospace sector to private enterprise. The collaboration model involves ISRO, NSIL, and IN-SPACe working alongside startups—each contributing their strengths: ISRO’s technical expertise, NSIL’s commercial mandate, IN-SPACe’s regulatory facilitation, and startups’ agility and innovation.
Q5. What are the future plans for Drishti, and what applications does the dual-imaging system have?
A5. GalaxEye intends to build a 10-12 satellite constellation to increase revisit frequency and coverage. Subsequent iterations will sharpen resolution further to 0.3 to 0.5 metres and scale up satellite size to 500 kg. The dual-imaging system has applications across: defence (border monitoring, troop movements, infrastructure assessment); agriculture (crop health, yield estimation, irrigation planning); disaster management (flood mapping, cyclone tracking, landslide detection); maritime monitoring (ship tracking, EEZ surveillance); and infrastructure planning (urban growth, transport corridors). GalaxEye has already signed distribution partnerships across over 20 countries, even before full commissioning.
