Our Bureau
Bengaluru
Indian space-tech startup GalaxEye has secured a patent in the United States for the core technology powering its OptoSAR imaging capabilities, marking a significant milestone for India’s emerging private space sector.
According to the company, the patented technology enables optical and microwave, or Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), sensors to operate in alignment and synchronisation while capturing data simultaneously. The approach allows observations from both sensors to be spatially and temporally matched, addressing a key technical challenge in combining optical and radar imagery.
GalaxEye said the foundational technology has also been patented in India. The company described the US patent as an important step in protecting technology developed domestically while expanding its intellectual property footprint internationally.
The startup said the technology was conceived and engineered in India and subsequently taken to orbit through Mission Drishti. The development highlights the growing capabilities of Indian startups working on advanced satellite and Earth-observation technologies.
Unlike conventional optical imaging, which can be affected by cloud cover and lighting conditions, radar-based imaging can provide observations in a wider range of weather and illumination conditions. Combining the two approaches could potentially provide richer and more consistent information for applications that rely on Earth-observation data.
GalaxEye’s latest patent comes amid increasing private-sector participation in India’s space industry. The company views the achievement as evidence of a broader shift in the country’s technology ecosystem—from adopting and building existing technologies to developing proprietary innovations for global markets.
The patent, therefore, represents not only an intellectual-property achievement for GalaxEye but also a notable milestone for India’s ambitions in space technology.