India plans to make new satellites to guard existing ones

AFTER NEAR-MISS IN ORBIT

- Bloomberg

India is developing a plan to improve its ability to protect satellites from attacks, people familiar with the matter said, after a near miss in orbit highlighted risks to national security posed by other spacecraft.

The government wants to develop so-called bodyguard satellites to identify and counter threats to orbiting spacecraft, according to people who requested to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter. Satellites also played a significant role during India's conflict with Pakistan in May.

A previously unreported incident highlighted the need for action, the people added, when a satellite from a neighbouring country came dangerously close to one of India's.

The near miss in mid-2024 involved one of Isro's satellites orbiting around 500-600 kilometers above the Earth, the same part of space that's getting increasingly crowded with communications satellites like Elon Musk's Starlink network.