Bengaluru Startup GalaxEye Loses Contact With Mission Drishti Satellite After Solar Storm

A maiden Earth observation satellite developed by Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye has suffered a major anomaly and lost communication following a geomagnetic solar storm. The company, which managed the spacecraft from its Mission Control Centre in Bengaluru, provided the mission status update on July 7, 2026, indicating a low likelihood of recovering the spacecraft.

The satellite, named Mission Drishti, is India's largest privately developed Earth observation satellite and the world's first OptoSAR satellite. It was launched into space on May 3, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg, California.

According to GalaxEye, the anomaly occurred during the final stage of the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP). Initial root cause analysis indicates that radiation effects associated with the space weather event likely impacted a critical onboard system. Following the storm, communication with the spacecraft became intermittent and was eventually lost.

Despite the communication loss, the company stated that Mission Drishti successfully established communication and completed a major portion of its planned LEOP. The spacecraft executed critical deployment and attitude control activities, operated its onboard computing and communications systems, and demonstrated the startup's mission operations capability.

During its active operating phase over a few weeks, the satellite validated key technologies, operational processes, and infrastructure required to design, build, launch, and operate advanced space systems.

Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, stated that the mission has provided invaluable engineering insights that will directly strengthen future missions. He added that the team is learning from the event and accelerating its transition to bring a significant portion of its supply chain, manufacturing, and satellite development processes in-house.

GalaxEye is incorporating these learnings into its next-generation spacecraft architecture. The company aims to launch two new OptoSAR satellites within the next 24 months while expanding its in-house capabilities to further strengthen quality, reliability, and execution.