Overview

• People familiar with the matter say the government is exploring escort satellites to detect and counter threats to Indian spacecraft.
• A mid-2024 incident reportedly saw a foreign craft come within about 1 kilometer of an ISRO satellite at roughly 500–600 kilometers altitude.
• Officials and consultants describe a layered approach that could include LiDAR satellites paired with ground-based radars and telescopes for faster threat detection.
• India is engaging startups to build 24/7 tracking capabilities that experts say are currently lacking.
• ISRO and the Department of Space declined to comment, as context includes ISRO’s support during the May Pakistan hostilities and warnings about China’s growing space capabilities.