GalaxEye launches Mission Drishti, India’s largest privately developed Earth observation satellite

Mission Drishti, the world’s first OptoSAR satellite developed by Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye, was successfully launched by SpaceX aboard Falcon 9 on Sunday, May 3, 2026, from Vandenberg, California.

Weighing 190 kilograms, Mission Drishti is India’s largest privately developed Earth observation satellite.

“GalaxEye is the first satellite worldwide to provide all-weather, day and night imaging capabilities by integrating Electro-Optical (EO) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform. This integrated approach addresses long-standing limitations of traditional systems and provides more reliable and consistent data acquisition in a variety of environmental conditions,” he said.