BENGALURU: Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye has signed a channel partnership agreement with Space PSU NewSpace India Limited (Nsil), marking the first time the state-owned company has partnered with a domestic private player to distribute satellite data.Under the agreement, Nsil will resell high-resolution OptoSAR data generated by GalaxEye’s own satellites. GalaxEye’s upcoming spacecraft will be incorporated into what the founders describe as a “virtual constellation,” allowing Nsil to fill data gaps in its current offerings.“Nsil will resell our data. From now on, whatever satellite we launch, Nsil will be the reseller of this data,” GalaxEye co-founder and CEO Suyash Singh told TOI.“Drishti”, the first satellite in GalaxEye’s planned 10-satellite constellation, is scheduled to be launched on February 25. The company plans to deploy all 10 spacecraft within the next four years. The current agreement covers the entire planned constellation, meaning Nsil can distribute data from each satellite as it comes online.In effect, Nsil will act as an extended sales arm for the startup. It will be able to sell raw data as well as downstream products built by GalaxEye. The arrangement also allows Nsil to sell satellite data directly to its own customer base, which includes government agencies and commercial customers.Drishti, expected to be launched on a SpaceX mission, will weigh 160 kilograms and is expected to become India’s largest privately built commercial satellite. While GalaxEye procured the satellite bus through contracts with Ananth Technologies and XDLINX, the company said the spacecraft will carry its proprietary “SyncFused OptoSAR” technology that combines optical and synthetic aperture radar data on a single platform.Measuring approximately 1 cubic meter and equipped with a 3.5-meter deployable antenna, Drishti will provide 1.5-meter resolution imagery with a global revisit time of 7 to 10 days. The data is intended for defence, border surveillance, disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, agriculture and financial risk assessment.GalaxEye has completed around 500 airborne test flights and had earlier flown a payload on Isro’s PSLV mission. The structural model was recently tested at ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre.The startup is in discussions with the Indian Ministry of Defense and Agriculture and has signed letters of intent with partners in over 20 countries. It plans to expand the size of its future satellites, targeting a resolution of 0.5 meters for future versions.“With the recent increase in geopolitical events, we look forward to providing unparalleled imagery intelligence. We have already attracted interest from defense and security agencies, utilities, agriculture and financial companies and we are very excited about the potential of this technology to transform decision-making and operational efficiency across industries,” Singh earlier told TOI.
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