Bengaluru-based start-up Digantara is preparing to launch the world's first commercial satellite designed to monitor objects as small as 5 cm in Earth's orbit. This initiative aims to enhance safety in increasingly crowded space environments.
The Space Camera for Object Tracking (SCOT) satellite will be launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-12 mission, scheduled for around midnight on January 14, 2025, from California.
Situational space awareness (SSA) is crucial for the safety of spacecraft, especially as the number of artificial satellites and space debris increases. Recent events, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) delay of the SpaDeX satellite launch due to orbital congestion, underscore the need for improved monitoring systems.
Anirudh Sharma, Founder and CEO of Digantara Aerospace, stated, "With SCOT, we are taking a crucial step in achieving surveillance superiority, ensuring not only a safer and more sustainable space environment but also safeguarding sovereign assets in an increasingly contested space domain."
SCOT will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit, allowing for efficient tracking of objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), surpassing the limitations of existing sensors affected by weather and geographic constraints. It is engineered to continuously monitor Resident Space Objects (RSOs) with precision, detecting and tracking objects as small as 5 cm.
As a pioneering SSA satellite, SCOT is set to address the gap in monitoring smaller RSOs, providing higher revisit rates and enhanced tracking accuracy. This satellite is integral to Digantara's mission to create a hybrid network of surveillance systems that ensure improved safety and long-term sustainability of space operations.