KaleidEO completes aerial testing of optical and multi-spectral EO payload

Bengaluru start-up KaleidEO Space Systems has completed aerial testing of its optical and multi-spectral earth observation (EO) payload. The prototype test, conducted aboard an aircraft over the UK and Austria, was aimed to assess the functionality and stability of the payload in the real-world environment.

KaleidEO’s founding team comprises of young ex-ISRO scientists and was set up by deep tech firm SatSure, which closed a series A round of $15 million in equity capital last year, led by Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP), India and Promus Ventures.

KaleidEO’s payload employs motion compensation and pixel shift methodology for super-resolving captured images which can be imaging moving objects at speeds of 7 km/s from orbit.

Payload features

The prototype payload was flown with image scanning abilities in 5-bands – red, blue, green, near infrared, red-edge – and captured images at 16 centimetres spatial resolution. The satellite version of this payload shall be capturing images globally at 1 metre resolution and 65-kilometre swath.

It can help in data collection for developing applications in agriculture, urban planning, critical infrastructure assets monitoring and for strategic planning needs of the Government.

Akash Yalgach, o-founder and Chief Technology Officer at KaleidEO said, “We are thrilled with the success of this initial test. With this milestone, KaleidEO has become one of the very few companies that is capable of developing EO payloads and imaging technologies.”

2026 Launch

Prateep Basu, co-founder and CEO, SatSure | Photo Credit: Rakesh VC

KaleidEO is on-track to unveil a commercial version of the payload, poised for deployment on satellites. Anticipated to launch in the third quarter of 2026, it will be integrated on a fleet of four satellites orbiting at a very low earth orbit of 380 km.

“High quality affordable satellite imagery is still a myth, but at KaleidEO we are going to be breaking barriers by democratising access to such data for users in India and other developing countries through cutting-edge hardware innovation,” said Prateep Basu, founder and CEO, SatSure and KaleidEO.

(Reported by BL intern Vidushi Natiyal)

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