Overview
- Launched on May 3 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, Mission Drishti was a roughly 190 kg satellite GalaxEye described as the world’s first OptoSAR platform combining optical cameras and synthetic aperture radar for all‑weather imaging.
- GalaxEye says the craft established communication and completed most of its Launch and Early Orbit Phase, validating deployment mechanisms, attitude control, onboard computing and in‑house mission operations before contact became intermittent and then stopped.
- The company’s preliminary root‑cause analysis points to radiation from an extreme geomagnetic solar storm that likely damaged a critical onboard system, and recovery efforts are ongoing though the chance of restoring contact is currently low.
- Independent trackers reported the satellite was tumbling at about 3° per second after deployment, and some industry sources privately suggested a possible solar‑panel or power issue that could have worsened stability.
- GalaxEye plans to bring more manufacturing and supply‑chain work in‑house, redesign its next‑generation spacecraft for greater resilience, and pursue two 300 kg class OptoSAR satellites in roughly 20–24 months to build toward a larger constellation.