BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based space technology startup GalaxEye has secured a US patent for the core technology behind its OptoSAR imaging system, with the company claiming that it is the first Indian startup to receive a US patent for satellite imaging technology.The patent covers the architecture and system developed by GalaxEye to align and synchronise optical and microwave sensors for simultaneous acquisition of spatially and temporally matched data. The same foundational technology has already been patented in India.“The development strengthens GalaxEye’s intellectual-property position as it prepares to build a planned constellation of 30 satellites over the next five years. The company expects the network to support defence, govt and commercial applications across national security, agriculture, infrastructure, insurance, maritime intelligence and disaster management,” a statement issued Monday, read.At the heart of the technology is a challenge in Earth observation. Optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors operate on different physical principles and have traditionally been deployed independently or combined through post-processing.Even when both types of imagery are available for the same location, they can be captured at different times, from different viewing geometries and by different platforms, creating temporal gaps and spatial misalignment.GalaxEye said its patented system addresses this challenge at the sensing architecture level. The technology forms the basis of the company’s OptoSAR approach, combining the visual and spectral information of optical imaging with SAR’s ability to operate in all weather conditions, day and night.
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Former Isro chairman S Somanath described the patent as an example of innovation emerging from India’s private space ecosystem. He said the technology’s “uniqueness lies in synchronising optical and SAR sensors at the system level” to deliver spatially and temporally matched Earth observation data, adding that it had commercial potential across applications requiring more actionable intelligence.GalaxEye founder and CEO Suyash Singh said: “This is not just a patent for us. This is an invention, an invention that came out of India,” he said, adding that the US protection was validation of what Indian deep-tech companies could create.The company took the technology to orbit through Mission Drishti, its first satellite, launched on May 3, 2026. However, the satellite was later declared as a failure.
