The Integrated Space Cell was the nodal agency within the Government of India with oversight of the security of its space based military and civilian hardware systems. It was to be jointly operated by all the three services of the Indian Armed Forces, the civilian Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This agency was superseded by Defence Space Agency in 2019. [1] [2]
The Integrated Space Cell had been set up to utilise more effectively the country's space-based assets for military purposes and to look into threats to these assets. [3] [4] It functioned under the Integrated Defense Services headquarters of the Indian Ministry of Defense. [5] This command leveraged space technology including satellites. Unlike an aerospace command, where the air force controls most of its activities, the Integrated Space Cell envisaged cooperation and coordination between the three services as well as civilian agencies dealing with space. [5] The armed forces are increasingly depending on satellites for communication, aircraft and missile guidance, reconnaissance and surveillance. Satellites are also essential for civilian purposes such as weather forecasting, disaster management and communications. This had made it important to work out measures to protect India's space-based assets.
The formation of an Integrated Space Cell was announced on 10 June 2010 by the former Defence Minister A. K. Antony [6] who said it was being established because of "the growing threat" to India's space assets. "Offensive counter-space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of military space systems have emerged in our neighbourhood" stressing that these need to be countered. [5] Announcing its setting up, Antony said while India remains committed to non-weaponisation of space, emergence of offensive counter space systems and anti-satellite weaponry posed new threats which had to be countered. [7] The defense minister's announcement comes about 16 months after India's then chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal Shashi Tyagi, told the media that India was "in the process of setting up an aerospace command to exploit outer space by integrating its capabilities". [5] The Integrated Space Cell has apparently been operational for six months before its formal announcement by Defence Minister Shri. A. K. Antony. [8]
The announcement came less than a month after China used a medium-range ballistic missile to shoot down one of its own aging satellites, a Chinese Fengyun 1C polar orbit weather satellite that it had launched into orbit in 1999. With that, China displayed to the world that it had the technology to knock out a satellite in space, expertise that only two other countries - Russia and the United States have. [5] On 27 March 2019 India also demonstrated this technology by knocking one of its own satellites, making it the fourth nation after U.S, Russia and China to do so. [9] But there are broader reasons behind its formation, especially with the Indian Armed Forces relying more on space-based assets for communication, reconnaissance and surveillance. [5]
As of December 2018, the IRS system is the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites for civilian use in operation today in the world which also has the dual military use, with 14 operational satellites including the latest at least 4 dedicated military use (GSAT-7, GSAT-6 and GSAT-7A, EMISAT by DRDO), however GSAT-6A which was launched as a dedicated satellite for army lost communication after its launch, and HySIS and Microsat-R satellites as of 24 January 2019 are dual use satellite available to military also. [10] [11] [12] Of the 900+ operational satellites, there are 320 dual use or dedicated military satellite in the sky, half of which are owned by United States alone, followed by Russia, China and India (14), as of 24 January 2018. [10] [12] All these Indian satellites are placed in polar Sun-synchronous orbit and provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. Though most are not meant to be dedicated military satellites, some have a spatial resolution of 1 metre or below which can be also used for military applications. The following is a noteworthy list of satellites:
Operational
Decommissioned
As aftermath of 2020 China–India skirmishes, the Indian security agencies have requested the government for additional four to six satellites with high resolution sensors and cameras to keep an eye on individuals and small objections on and across Line of Actual Control. [53]
On 27 March 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the successful launch of India's first ASAT. [54] The interceptor was able to strike a test satellite at a 300-kilometre (186 mi) altitude in low Earth orbit (LEO), thus successfully testing its ASAT missile. The interceptor was launched at around 05:40 UTC at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha and hit its target Microsat-R [55] after 168 seconds. [56] The operation was named Mission Shakti. The missile system was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)—a research wing of the Indian defence services. [57] With this test, India became the fourth nation with anti-satellite missile capabilities. India stated that this capability is a deterrent and is not directed against any nation. [58] [59] [60]
The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to satisfy telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is the largest domestic communication system in the Indo-Pacific Region. It is a joint venture of the Department of Space, Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. The overall coordination and management of INSAT system rests with the Secretary-level INSAT Coordination Committee.
Cartosat-2 was an Earth observation satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit and the second of the Cartosat series of satellites. The satellite was built, launched and maintained by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Weighing around 680 kg at launch, its applications were mainly be towards cartography. It was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C7 launch vehicle on 10 January 2007.
Cartosat-3 is an advanced Indian Earth observation satellite built and developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which replaces the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series. It has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it one of the imaging satellite with highest resolution in the world at the time of launch and MX of 1 metre with a high quality resolution which is a major improvement from the previous payloads in the Cartosat series.
RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) is a series of Indian radar imaging reconnaissance satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). They provide all-weather surveillance using synthetic aperture radars (SAR).
Radar Imaging Satellite 1 or RISAT-1, was an Indian remote sensing satellite built and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The second RISAT satellite to be launched, it used a C-band 5.35 GHz synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) for Earth observation.
Communication-Centric Intelligence Satellite is an Indian advanced reconnaissance satellite, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It will be India's first officially declared dedicated spy satellite and is expected to be in orbit, tentatively, by 2014. This satellite will help Indian intelligence agencies to significantly boost surveillance of terror camps in neighbouring countries.
The Cartosat is a series of Indian optical Earth observation satellites built and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The Cartosat series is a part of the Indian Remote Sensing Program. They are used for Earth's resource management, defence services and monitoring.
GSAT-7A is an advanced military communications satellite meant primarily for the Indian Air Force with Indian Army using 30% of capacity.
EOS-04 or Earth Observation Satellite - 04 is an Indian Space Research Organisation Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry & Plantations, Soil Moisture & Hydrology and Flood mapping. It is a follow on to RISAT-1 satellite with similar configuration. The satellite is developed by the ISRO and it is the sixth in a series of RISAT satellites.
Geo Imaging Satellite or GISAT is an Indian imaging satellite class for geostationary orbit with a high temporal resolution, meant for providing near real time imaging with fast revisit capability and real time monitoring. Two satellites will provide resolution in the range of 42 to 318 m. It will carry multi-spectral, multi-resolution imaging instruments.
Cartosat-2F is the eighth satellite in the Cartosat-2 Series. It is an Earth observation satellite launched on the PSLV-C40 mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Microsat-R was claimed to be an experimental imaging satellite manufactured by DRDO and launched by Indian Space Research Organisation on 24 January 2019 for military use. The satellite served as a target for an anti-satellite test on 27 March, 2019.
On 27 March 2019, India tested an anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) during an operation code named Mission Shakti. The target of the test was a satellite present in a low Earth orbit, which was hit with a kinetic kill vehicle.
The Defence Space Agency (DSA) is an integrated tri-services agency of the Indian Armed Forces headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The agency is tasked with operating the space-warfare and Satellite Intelligence assets of India. The DSA draws personnel from all three branches of the Armed Forces.
RISAT-2B, or Radar Imaging Satellite-2B is an Indian radar reconnaissance satellite that is part of India's RISAT programme and the third satellite in the series. It is built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to replace RISAT-2.
EOS-02 was an Indian Earth observation microsatellite developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation as a test payload on the maiden launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). EOS-02 was based on Microsat-TD. The objective behind EOS-02 was to realize and fly an experimental imaging satellite with short turnaround time to showcase launch on demand capability.
PSLV-C46 was a mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, launched on Thursday, May 22, 2019, at 05:30 Hrs (IST) by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. In this mission, the 'Core-Alone' configuration of PSLV was flown.
PSLV-C47 was a mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, launched on Thursday, November 27, 2019, at 09:27 Hrs (IST) by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
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