03 May,2026 04:42 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed Mission Drishti as a major milestone in India's space journey, saying the successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite reflects the passion of the country's youth for innovation and nation-building.
In a post on X, PM Modi congratulated the team behind the project and said the achievement underlines India's growing technological capabilities.
"Mission Drishti by GalaxEye marks a major achievement in our space journey. The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite and the largest privately-built satellite in India is a testament to our youth's passion for innovation and nation-building," he said.
PM Modi extended his best wishes to the founders and the entire team of GalaxEye for the successful mission.
"Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to the founders and the entire team of GalaxEye," the Prime Minister added.
Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
