Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 3rd May 2026, Mission Drishti was developed by the Bengaluru-based spacetech startup GalaxEye. The mission represents a major milestone in Earth observation by demonstrating the integration of high-resolution Optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging payloads onto a single satellite bus.

Salient Features of Mission Drishti

• Private Spacetech Milestone: Weighing approximately 190 kg, Drishti represents India’s largest privately designed and developed commercial Earth-observation satellite placed into low Earth orbit.
• Proprietary OptoSAR Architecture: Houses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Multi-Spectral Imaging (MSI) instruments within a single platform, enabling synchronous data collection over the same geographical footprint.
• High Spatial Resolution: Delivers sub-meter to high-resolution products, capturing spatial details between 1.2 to 3.6 metres, with fused hybrid imagery reaching approximately 1.8 metres spatial resolution.
• Rapid Revisit Frequency: Designed around a responsive 4-day revisit cycle to provide dynamic monitoring over critical strategic and economic corridors.
• Onboard Edge AI Processing: Incorporates space-qualified edge computing hardware to process raw sensor feeds on orbit, reducing transmission bandwidth and shortening the time required to deliver actionable data.
• Dual-Use Applications: Designed to serve both commercial users (precision agriculture, maritime logistics, urban infrastructure monitoring) and strategic applications (border surveillance, disaster relief mapping).

Imaging Techniques Deployed in the Mission

• 1. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR):
  • An active sensor operating in the X-band microwave spectrum that illuminates the Earth’s surface with radar pulses and records the backscattered signal.
  • Provides all-weather, day-and-night imaging capability, penetrating through cloud cover, monsoonal haze, and smoke that typically obstruct traditional optical sensors.
• 2. Multi-Spectral Imaging (MSI):
  • A passive sensor that captures reflected sunlight across distinct spectral bands—including Visible (RGB), Panchromatic, Coastal Blue, Red Edge, and Near-Infrared (NIR).
  • Delivers high visual clarity and spectral indices useful for evaluating crop health (NDVI), soil moisture, forest canopy condition, and surface water bodies.
• 3. Synchronous OptoSAR Data Fusion:
  • The core technical capability of the mission is the co-registration and real-time fusion of optical and radar telemetry captured simultaneously during a single orbital pass.
  • Combines the visual intuition of high-resolution optical imagery with the physical structural and moisture data provided by radar backscatter.

Why Mission Drishti is Considered the “World’s First of Its Kind”

• Overcoming the Historical Sensor Trade-Off: Traditional Earth observation systems operate optical and radar sensors on separate satellites. Optical satellites provide high interpretability but are hindered by darkness and cloud cover, while radar satellites provide all-weather capability but produce complex, non-intuitive imagery. Drishti combines both on a single platform.
• First Commercial OptoSAR Satellite: It is described as the world’s first commercially launched satellite to co-locate high-resolution SAR and Multi-Spectral payloads on a single microsatellite bus.
• Eliminating Temporal Mismatch: In multi-satellite setups, hours or days often elapse between an optical image and a radar scan of the same location. Drishti captures both simultaneously, providing real-time data fusion for time-critical disaster monitoring, maritime tracking, and defense intelligence.

Mission Drishti reflects the maturation of India’s private spacetech sector, moving from satellite manufacturing toward sensor fusion and advanced orbital data processing.