An Indian startup's satellites can see through clouds and darkness — now shielded by a US patent

GalaxEye, founded by IIT Madras engineers, secured a US patent on September 8, 2026 for technology that fuses optical and radar images into perfectly aligned pictures of the same spot — so Earth can be mapped through cloud cover and at night. The company tested its OptoSAR tech in orbit with Mission Drishti and plans a 30-satellite constellation.