Spacetech startup GalaxEye has secured ₹63.84 Cr in financial support under the Centre’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund to develop its next-generation multisensor satellite technology.

The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has signed an agreement with the Bengaluru-based startup to provide the support through optionally convertible debentures.

The project has a total approved cost of ₹247.69 Cr, the Centre said in a statement. It aims to develop an indigenous satellite capable of OptoSAR imaging at a resolution finer than 0.5 metres. The project will take the technology from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to TRL 9, progressing from a demonstrated prototype towards a system proven in operation.

GalaxEye’s technology combines synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical (EO) imaging. While optical imaging can be affected by cloud cover and lighting conditions, SAR can capture images through clouds and without daylight. By combining the two, the startup aims to provide high-resolution Earth observation across different weather and lighting conditions.

The proposed satellite’s applications include wide-area and long-range surveillance, detection of people and vehicles, and target classification, the government said.

“The agreement with GalaxEye reflects TDB’s focus on enabling indigenous capabilities in emerging space technologies and supporting their journey towards commercialisation,” TDB secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said.

Founded in 2021 by Suyash Singh, Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta, and Rakshit Bhatt, GalaxEye builds multi-sensor earth observation satellites designed to provide high-resolution imaging and geospatial intelligence catering to sectors such as defence, agriculture, infrastructure and disaster management.

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