New Delhi: In a giant leap for India’s space sector, domestic aerospace company Azista Space has demonstrated a new indigenous space capability by snapping images of objects in orbit from another satellite, a first for an Indian space company. This is often referred to as “on-orbit snooping or space surveillance.”Azista Space used its 80-kilogram Earth observation satellite ABA First Runner (AFR) to capture images of the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.The AFR was launched by SpaceX’s Falcon-9 on June 13, 2023 as part of the Transporter-8 mission and has been in orbit for 2.5 years.Azista Space, which has a satellite and payload manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, said in an article on“The final acquired images, with 2.2m sampling, validate our tracking algorithm and imaging accuracy. To our knowledge, AFR is the only Indian-built and operated satellite to demonstrate this feat,” the company said. The company is Asia’s first private satellite factory and produces 50 satellites per year.India currently has more than 50 operational satellites used for communication, navigation, earth observation and surveillance purposes. Protecting these space assets requires timely information about the activities of other nearby satellites, especially during periods of heightened geopolitical tensions.This rare feat is a crucial step towards enhancing India’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA), which means comprehensive monitoring, tracking and prediction of satellites, space debris and natural objects such as asteroids in the Earth’s orbit. Analyzing potential collisions and implementing evasive maneuvers is critical to ensuring the safety and sustainability of space activities. “Azista Space also has strong electro-optical payload, image processing and satellite bus engineering capabilities to design, develop and deliver end-to-end SSA satellites and payloads according to customer mission requirements,” the company said.The company is responsible for the design, development, manufacturing and integration of satellites, spaceborne systems and payloads, as well as the manufacturing of custom satellites and satellite subsystems. Its personnel are also involved in more than 12 ISRO missions.
