Space technology company GalaxEye on Tuesday announced that it had been granted a patent in the United States for the core technology behind its OptoSAR imaging capabilities, making it the first Indian startup to receive a US patent for satellite imaging technology.
OptoSAR imaging technology integrates electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, “This patented technology enables us to serve the global markets and provide weather-agnostic imaging capabilities across sectors like defence, agriculture, insurance, disaster response and more.”
On May 3 this year, GalaxEye launched Mission Drishti, its first satellite and the world’s first OptoSAR imaging satellite.
However, on July 7, the company said it had lost contact with its satellite Mission Drishti and the likelihood of recovery appeared low.
The connection was lost after the satellite encountered an anomaly following a geomagnetic solar storm. GalaxEye at the time highlighted that Mission Drishti had successfully validated key spacecraft systems, successfully executed critical deployment and attitude control activities, and operated onboard computing and communications systems. (PTI)
