Knowledge Nugget: What makes GalaxEye’s Drishti satellite first of its kind?

2. However, both of these imaging systems have their own limitations. Multi-spectral images are clear and easy to understand, but they are not effective during cloudy weather or night time, for instance. SAR signals can penetrate clouds and take continuous images, but they are not intuitive. Like X-ray images, they need experts to glean the information.

Drishti is the first satellite of GalaxEye, a company started by alumni of IIT Madras. (Credit: X/@GalaxEye)

3. SAR and optical sensors are designed in different ways. They look at the Earth at different angles (parallax). So, if they are placed side by side, for example, the optical sensor might be looking at Bengaluru while SAR is capturing Dubai at that instant. There is issue of capture time (temporal gaps) as well which create problems in mission-critical applications.

4. To solve this issue and get clear and intuitive images from space, Indian start-up, GalaxEye, designed the Drishti satellite where both imaging sensors are put on the satellite and operate in sync with each other to produce simultaneous imaging of the same place. This eliminates the need for users to manually align datasets from two different satellites.

5. Drishti satellite combines the clarity of Optical Imaging with the all-weather reliability of SAR on a single platform to deliver intuitive, reliable, all-weather Earth imagery that is already analysis-ready. For this reason, the company is describing its innovation as Opto-SAR technology.

6. “The onboard and ground-based software uses AI models for sub-pixel co-registration and jitter correction. These algorithms ensure that every single data point from both sensors is captured and processed as part of a single, unified dataset”, as per the Company.

7. The reason that this is first of its kind is because this is a primarily tropical country’s problem. Most of the satellite companies have traditionally been based in the western countries, and cater to the demands of those countries. Weather is relatively more predictable, and the skies are relatively cleaner and clearer there. They don’t have the same kind of issues with clouds that countries like India face.

India’s private space companies and their inventions

1. Skyroot Aerospace: It is likely to become the first private company to launch an orbital space rocket- Vikram-1. Vikram-1 is a multi-stage launch vehicle with solid and liquid fuel-based engines designed for launching satellites weighing up to 350kg to low earth orbit.

— What makes Vikram-1 different is that the rocket is made of carbon composite instead of metals, and houses a 3D-printed, indigenously made engine — making its manufacturing and assembly easier, quicker, and cheaper.

— Skyroot was also the first private company to carry out a single-stage sub-orbital flight in 2022, followed by another company, Agnikul. A sub-orbital flight is launched at a slower speed than the orbital velocity, so it reaches outer space but cannot get into an orbit around Earth.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, during the flag off ceremony of the flight hardware of Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1 — India’s first privately developed orbital rocket, in Sriharikota on Saturday. (Telangana CMO /ANI Photo)

2. Pixxel: Space-tech startup Pixxel on May 4, announced a partnership with LLM provider Sarvam AI to develop and build India’s first orbital data centre satellite called The Pathfinder.

— Expected to reach orbit by the end of 2026, the 200-kg satellite will house GPUs (graphics processing units) that will be used to carry out training and inference of Sarvam’s AI model.

— Unlike conventional satellite computing, which relies on low-power edge processors optimised for survival rather than performance, the Pathfinder satellite will house the same generation of hardware as on-ground data centres used to power frontier AI models.

3. Agnikul Cosmos: In 2024, Indian space startup Agnikul Cosmos successfully launched its first sub-orbital test vehicle powered by the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine. The engine—called Agnilet—uses sub-cooled oxygen as fuel.

— ‘Agnibaan – SOrTeD’ Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator also has the unique distinction of having been launched from India’s first private launch pad called ‘Dhanush’ established by Agnikul. It is also India’s first semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket launch.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: IN-SPACe

1. In 2020, the government created IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) and formulated the Indian Space Policy 2023 with the intent to facilitate greater participation of private industry in the space sector.

2. IN-SPACe is a single-window, independent, nodal agency that functions as an autonomous agency in the Department of Space (DOS).

3. It is a facilitator and also a regulator. It acts as an interface between ISRO and private parties, and assesses how best to utilise India’s space resources and increase space-based activities.

4. “It is responsible to promote, enable, authorize and supervise various space activities of non-governmental entities including building launch vehicles and satellites and providing space-based services; sharing space infrastructure and premises under the control of DOS/ISRO; and establishing of new space infrastructure and facilities”, as per ISRO.

5. In 2025, a new draft of the Space Activities Bill was finalized to achieve the goal of a 44 billion dollar space market in India by the year 2033, at least one fourth of which, 11 billion dollars, is supposed to be generated from exports. In 2022, India’s space market was estimated to be worth 8.4 billion dollars.

Post Read Question

Consider the following pairs:

I. Pixxel: Vikram-1

II. Skyroot Aerospace: The Pathfinder

III. GalaxEye: Drishti

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) I and II only

(b) II only

(c) II and III only

(d) III only

*Correction: The Knowledge Nugget published on May 8, 2026, contained an incorrect answer. The error has now been rectified. Readers are requested to check the updated version.

(Sources: First-of-its-kind satellite by Indian start-up flies on SpaceX rocket, ISRO, To fuel $44-billion space push, Centre finalises Space Bill to boost private sector, give IN-SPACe statutory powers)

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