By [Rajat Pandit], Science & Technology Correspondent
In the rapidly evolving space economy, where private players are increasingly making their mark in what was once the sole domain of government agencies, one Indian startup is drawing international attention for all the right reasons. GalaxEye Space, a space-tech startup incubated at IIT Madras, is not just entering the game — it’s reinventing the rules.
GalaxEye is building India’s first multi-sensor earth observation (EO) satellite, combining Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors into a single unit — a feat no other private space company in India has attempted and very few globally have achieved.
At a time when satellites are the backbone of climate monitoring, disaster response, agriculture, and national security, GalaxEye’s breakthrough could position India as a serious contender in the $10 billion global EO market.
🌍 Why Earth Observation Matters More Than Ever
With worsening climate change, geopolitical tensions, and natural disasters, the demand for real-time, high-resolution satellite data has exploded. Governments, insurers, logistics companies, and environmental agencies all depend on EO data to monitor and react to events across the globe.
However, traditional EO satellites have limitations:
- Optical satellites can only function in clear weather and daylight.
- Radar satellites (like SAR) can see through clouds and at night but lack color or visual context.
GalaxEye’s innovation lies in combining both in one payload, offering richer and more actionable data from a single satellite pass.
“We’re building a sensor fusion satellite that delivers the best of both worlds,” says Suyash Singh, CEO and co-founder of GalaxEye. “This makes us unique not just in India, but globally.”
🧠 The Origin Story: From Student Team to Space Trailblazers
GalaxEye emerged from Team Avishkar, the IIT Madras student-led group that represented India at international space competitions organized by NASA and ESA. These competitions demanded more than academic brilliance — they demanded systems thinking, precision engineering, and interdisciplinary innovation.
From this crucible of talent and ambition was born GalaxEye in 2020, with a founding team of engineers and entrepreneurs all in their twenties. Since then, it has drawn the attention of global investors, space agencies, and even defense stakeholders.
In 2022, GalaxEye raised funding from Speciale Invest and received technical backing from Antaris Inc., a Silicon Valley-based satellite platform company. This partnership allows GalaxEye to focus on sensor development while outsourcing the satellite bus and operational systems — a strategic move to stay agile in a fast-moving industry.
🔬 How Multi-Sensor Satellites Will Disrupt the Market
Traditional EO data comes with trade-offs — resolution vs. range, optical vs. radar, cost vs. coverage. GalaxEye’s satellites, starting with Drishti-1, aim to eliminate those trade-offs.
Key innovations include:
- Sensor Fusion: Real-time stitching of radar and optical data into a unified image, providing unmatched clarity and detail.
- Onboard Processing: The satellite will carry AI-based image processors that filter and compress data before transmission, reducing latency and bandwidth needs.
- Customized Tasking: Clients (governments, logistics, insurers) can request time-sensitive monitoring of assets or regions with high revisit rates.
- All-Weather Functionality: The satellite works day or night, rain or shine, making it ideal for climate monitoring, disaster relief, and border surveillance.
“Imagine being able to monitor a flood zone in real time, even during a cyclone. Or track a ship’s movements through cloud cover,” says co-founder Raghav Bharadwaj. “That’s what our tech enables.”
🚀 India’s New Space Ecosystem: GalaxEye at the Helm
GalaxEye’s growth mirrors a larger story — the emergence of India’s private space sector post-ISRO liberalization. With the Indian government opening up the space economy through IN-SPACe and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center, startups are finally getting access to launch platforms, ground stations, and policy support.
GalaxEye is one of the first startups to sign MoUs with ISRO for testing and co-development, and it plans to launch its first satellite aboard an Indian PSLV rocket by 2025.
What sets GalaxEye apart is not just its tech, but its vision to serve global markets. While many Indian startups target domestic government contracts, GalaxEye is already in talks with clients in Europe, the U.S., and Southeast Asia for satellite imaging-as-a-service.
🧭 Challenges on the Cosmic Road
Despite the excitement, the path is riddled with challenges:
- Regulatory Clearances: India’s space policy is evolving, but ambiguity still remains around data licensing and export.
- Capital-Intensive R&D: Building space-grade hardware and launching it into orbit requires tens of millions of dollars.
- Talent Wars: The global space race means top talent is fiercely contested by giants like SpaceX, Airbus, and Amazon’s Kuiper.
Yet GalaxEye’s founders remain undeterred. With a strong academic backing, international collaboration, and deep tech capabilities, they’re in it for the long haul.
🌌 Future Horizons: A Constellation of Opportunity
GalaxEye doesn’t plan to stop at one satellite. Its roadmap includes:
- A small constellation of 4–6 satellites for global revisit coverage
- Dedicated analytics services using AI and ML
- Collaboration with global climate initiatives for environmental monitoring
- Customized solutions for defense, urban planning, and disaster risk reduction
As Earth becomes increasingly unpredictable and data becomes the new oil, GalaxEye stands as a beacon of India’s next-gen space tech prowess — bold, brainy, and born in a college lab. In a world dominated by space giants like SpaceX, Planet Labs, and ICEYE, this young Indian startup is proving that you don’t need to be big to reach the stars — just precise, passionate, and persistent.