IIT Madras GalaxEye began as a student engineering project and has now grown into a space-tech startup with a satellite in orbit and a US patent. Five IIT Madras engineers—Suyash Singh, Denil Chawda, Rakshit Bhatt, Kishan Thakkar and Pranit Mehta—first worked together on Team Avishkar Hyperloop. Their team became the only Asian finalist at the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition in 2019. They later founded GalaxEye in May 2021 and developed OptoSAR technology, which combines optical and radar imaging on a single satellite. Mission Drishti, their first satellite, launched on May 3, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The startup has now secured a US patent for technology that synchronises optical and radar sensors to capture precisely matched Earth observations. The story highlights how college projects, teamwork and engineering innovation can develop into major technology ventures.
IIT Madras GalaxEye: From Student Project to Space Startup
