Beyond Launch: How India Plans to Defend Its Satellites in Space

India plans to defend its satellites by deploying a network of "bodyguard satellites" to monitor threats, developing advanced space surveillance capabilities through its "Project Netra" including ground-based LiDAR satellites, and establishing an "AI-powered satellite grid". To mitigate the deep-seated threats in the sphere of outer space, which continues to become a highly disputed realm, India is building anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities, space surveillance programs, and collaborating with other nations and organizations to bolster its protective capabilities in space.

The increased reliance on satellite technology in communication, navigation, surveillance, and disaster response has made space resources vital to national security and economic growth. In India, this has heightened the necessity to protect these space assets (orbiting over fifty satellites) due to the increasing threat of space debris, cyber vulnerabilities, and militarization of orbit. The latter is further enhanced by the high cost of developing an application that aims to utilize a satellite, which often reaches in the hundreds of crores, including the cost of the satellite itself, launching it, and maintaining it.

Satellite-Protection Project- Tactical Significance of Satellites

This Article explores the changing India policy aimed at ensuring the safety of its satellites in the ever-competitive space era. It discusses the technological developments of the country, whether it is the anti-satellite (ASAT) weaponry and Space situational awareness (SSA) platforms and systems, and the diplomatic relations the country has formed in order to establish international guidelines on responsible space actions. The article contextualises the policy approaches, institutional practices, and international relations of India as far as easing the protection of its satellites is concerned by mapping the paradigm of India in space security. The gradual transformation of space into a field of strategic competition and cooperation offers a useful direction for learning about how India approaches things, which offers familiarity with obstacles and opportunities that have to be capitalized on by newly spacefaring countries in their orbital infrastructure protection.

Modern governance, economic development, and national security have become aspects that cannot be done without satellites. In India, this is reached by a growing vulnerability in a space environment where congestion and contests are growing.

The National Infrastructure under Satellites
Applications of the Indian satellite system complete various important sectors like telecommunications, meteorology, agriculture, navigation, and defence. NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) and Earth-observation satellites are some of the systems that facilitate domestic position facilities and catastrophe map resources, respectively. Space-based assets are essential in defence uses such as surveillance and enabling communication. The identification of satellites as strategic infrastructure is seen in the INR 27,000-Crore satellite launch programme to introduce 52 satellites from 2026, which India prefers.

Threats in an Orbital Space
The orbital space is becoming very dangerous. Space debris, such as the demolition of old satellites or debris involved in previous collisions, is a constant threat. Even a tiny screw moving with the orbital velocity is capable of crippling a working satellite. The security of satellites is even complicated by hostile proximity missions, jamming, spoofing, and cyber intrusion. In 2024, an incident of a foreign satellite nearing an Indian spacecraft in less than one kilometre highlighted the urgency of protection against such incidents.

Vulnerabilities to Cybersecurity
Though the satellites are in space, the control systemsare on Earth and therefore are susceptible. Ground stations and user terminals are vulnerable to denial of service, spoofing, and attacks through hacking. Now, CERT-In guidelines in India require encryption, network segmentation, as well as cyber-hygiene mechanisms to mitigate such risks. The growing computerisation of satellite activities requires effective cybersecurity based on the need to eliminate illegal entry and data leakages.

Geopolitical and Technological Problems
The satellite security operation of India has to go across political and geopolitical divides. The emerging trend of the creation of bodyguard satellites, satellites that will spy on assets of great legal value and protect them, is a reflection of trends that global pressure is taking, but poses a risk capable of raising the levels of tension in space. Such systems demand technical devices, remote movement, and actual time of attack shadow, which India has yet to master. The speed between strategic deterrence and peaceful space usage is a sensitive policy issue.

The Defensive measures and ASAT Development in India

India has developed satellite defence strategies as a resurgence of its space policy, as India realised it was undergoing a strategic realignment of its space policy, given its need to deter threats and seek technological dominance in an increasingly weaponized space environment.

Mission Shakti and the Development of the ASAT Capability The use of Mission Shakti anti-satellite weapons in March 2019 was an eye-opener to the policies of India. The test was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) using a direct-ascent kinetic kill vehicle, which successfully shot a live satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO). India, therefore, became one product of a limited fraternity of statesalong with the United States, Russia, and Chinathat had already tested the capability of ASAT. Although in the form of a deterrent initiative, the exercise even cast doubt on the issue of space debris and the sustainability of the overall orbital processes in the long term.

Expanding Space Security Portfolio, DRDO
After the mission Shakti, DRDO has expanded the scope of space defence technologies. They include directed-energy weapons, electronic warfare systems, and satellite protection systems. Early warning of threats and prompt response through the development of radar and optical sensors of space situational awareness (SSA) ensures compliance with the capabilities in the key of kinetics. Others that are mentioned in the roadmap as non-kinetic ASAT opportunities are cyber and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) systems, which are capable of disabling adversarial satellites without demolishing them.

Implications and Strategic Deterrence
The ASAT development of India is entrenched in the broader strategic deterrence framework. The ability acts as a warning to the rivals across the world that India can protect its space resources and respond in case of provocation. However, India has been very conservative in its stance, emphasizing its promise of peaceful outer space exploration. India has tried to assure the space weapon demonstration with its target to provide national security with credible deterrence through an explanation of the test by the Ministry of External Affairs that India has no intention of weaponising space.

The Problems and Ethical Considerations
India is facing the problem of an unsynchronized use of ASAT systems in rich space defence architecture in spite of advancements in technology. Unmanned threat response, autonomous systems, and real-time flavourfulfilment are complicated problems. Furthermore, the ethical aspect of ASAT tests, especially their role in creating space debris, has resulted in calls for increased transparency and international control. India joined the global forums like the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and this shows that India intends to influence the responsible norms and protect its interests at the same time.

SSA and Surveillance Infrastructure

Space Situational Awareness (SSA) has also become a cornerstone of the Indian satellite protection policy and has enabled real-time situational awareness, threat warning, and evidence-based decision-making in an ever-growing, congested space.

Understanding SSA
SSA is the ability to observe, monitor, and forecast the movement of items in space, such as satellites, debris, and possible threats. In the case of India, SSA is not only needed to avoid collision but also to protect its national assets against enemy actions and natural threats. The more satellites and space missions on board, the better SSA mitigates continuity and strategic vision in space-based operations.

ISRO’s SSA Initiatives
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has also made significant steps towards coming up with local SSA solutions. In 2020, theinstitutionalisation of space situational awareness and management (DSSAM) was established, which marked a pledge to space surveillance. The NETRA (Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis) project by ISRO is one of the key projects that include ground-based radars, optical telescopes, and data-processing centres. NETRA will be able to track small objects with a size of 10cm in the low-Earth orbit, thus improving the ability of objects in India to predict and mitigate collision risks.

Global Integration
The SSA infrastructure of India is increasingly being integrated on a global basis. The collaborations with the agencies, including the United States Space Command and the involvement in the global data-sharing platforms, provide India with access to more detailed orbital datasets. Through these alliances, better accuracy in threat assessment is boosted, and there is transparency on spacing operations. As well, India is part of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IASC), which drives shared responsibility in space activities.

Military Surveillance
Another strategic use of SSA is beyond civilian use. To track the movements of any adversarial satellites and possible counter-space operations, the Defence Space Agency (DSA) was created in 2019 in order to work in accordance with the ISRO and DRDO. The presence of a Dual-purpose infrastructure, like radar technology that allows recording the location of both ground and space-based threats, also reinforces the deterrence posture of India. SSA integration with command-and-control systems makes it possible to achieve the ability to respond quickly in the case of hostile involvement.

The SSA and surveillance architecture of India is transforming into a strong and systematic framework that can combine technological innovation with strategic foresight. With space becoming a contentious field, SSA will keep playing a substantial role in the efforts made by India to protect its orbital resources.

International Cooperation, Policy and Diplomacy

The protection of satellites is not merely a technological creation; albeit in a broader context, India has been entrenched within its policy structures, foreign relations, as well as multilateral agreements on how participants in space can conduct themselves responsibly.

Nations' Space Policy and Strategic Clarity
Changing space policy in India highlights the growing role of concern with security, sustainability, and strategic autonomy. In the Indian Space Policy of 2023, the roles of ISRO, IN-SPACe, as well as those of private parties in safeguarding the national interest in space are outlined. It emphasizes the need to be strengthened against danger and promotes the growth of local capacity to protect satellites. Furthermore, the policy fosters dual-purpose technology, as well as domesticating infrastructures of space into a state defence framework, thus creating space domains into a strategic domain.

Diplomatic Interactions and Standards
India has always preached peaceful utilisation of outer space, even though it recognised that deterrence is needed. It is an active participant in the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS), and also contributes towards the programs aimed at maintaining a non-arms race in space. As an attendee of the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on space threats, India has focused on promoting transparency, sharing data, and developing non-binding standards in the prevention of mistrust among spacefaring nations.

Multilateral and Bilateral Cooperation
Bilateral relationships with space affirmations with nations like the United States, France, and Japan have been tightened in India. The 2022 India-United States Space Situational Awareness Agreement allows data on orbital hazards to be exchanged in real time. Similarly, India cooperates with the European Space Agency(ESA) and is a member of the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee(IADC), which enhances its opportunities with international surveillance networks. Such collaborations build capacity in the Indian SSA and institute it in a working framework to manage space.

Difficulty in Global Governance&Strategic Autonomy Although it is an active provider of the index, India faces the difficulty in designing binding international norms. The lack of a space weaponry treaty is a global agreement that would result in tackling the growing militarisation of space, which makes it more difficult to protect satellites. The policy of India should find a way in such uncertainties and maintain some law of strategic independence. Prioritization of the indigenous SSA system, ASAT capability, and secure communication networks can be interpreted as a hedging approach, which involves being a global participant and preparing alone.

Conclusion

India's Satellite protection plan is based on a multidimensional strategy, which embraces technological innovation and strategic deterrence, and the second point is institutional capacity building, and the third point is cooperation with international partners. Due to the growing contention and congestion of space, the security of orbital assets has ceased to remain a far-mordant consideration and has become one of the primary pillars of national security and the international government. India has been trying to balance strategic autonomy and normative responsibility as revealed in its efforts to achieve this through schemes like the Mission Shakti, NETRA surveillance, and media involvement in multilateral forums.However, issues persist regarding debris management, response to the threat in real-time, and creating global policies that can be binding on every single state. Policy, diplomacy, and defense are important features that help in underlining that India has been appreciating the idea of space as an important area that should be given due investment and moral care. With more satellite protection expected to shape the space presence of India as it grows, its endurance framework will contribute significantly to guarantee operational sustainability, tactical plausible conduct, and responsible performance in the difficult space order.