News: GalaxEye, a Bengaluru-based space start-up, has lost contact with Mission Drishti, the world's first OptoSAR (Optical + Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite, likely due to a geomagnetic solar storm during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP).

About Mission Drishti

• Launched on 3 May 2026 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg, California (USA).
• It is India's largest privately developed Earth observation satellite.
• The satellite combines Electro-Optical (EO) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors on a single platform, making it the world's first OptoSAR satellite.

Why is OptoSAR Important?

• Enables all-weather, day-and-night Earth observation.
• Combines the strengths of EO imaging (high-resolution visual imagery) and SAR imaging (works through clouds and darkness).
• Useful for agriculture, disaster management, border surveillance, infrastructure monitoring, and environmental studies.
• Reduces the need for deploying separate EO and SAR satellites, improving efficiency and lowering costs.