Amid the ongoing West Asia war, Indian space firms are finding increasing interest in delivering surveillance services to the region. While this represents significant business scope in the near future, the journey is not as straightforward, as local and global regulations may pose key challenges. Mint explains the nuances of this new, yet strategically crucial, industry.
Do private Indian firms offer satellite surveillance?
Yes. Ever since the Indian space industry was privatized in 2020, a crop of private Indian space startups has emerged with core technologies that enable space-based surveillance services.
These include imagery and data from satellites, analytics from ground stations based on satellite data, and maps of satellites that help countries monitor who might be observing them. Alongside satellite-based communications, satellite surveillance is one of the largest pies of the Indian space industry, and is expected to deliver nearly 20% of its revenue annually.
Bengaluru trio Pixxel, Digantara and GalaxEye are forerunners of private satellite surveillance, emulating US giants such as Maxar.
Is Isro a part of Indian satellite surveillance too?
Yes, but not in the commercial sense. In May 2005, Centre-backed agency Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) launched Cartosat, a constellation of satellites designed to offer three-dimensional data of the Earth's surface that was used for defence as well as other general purposes.
However, as of the end of 2023, only one Cartosat satellite was operational, with no further updates from ISRO on its status in the recent past. Isro’s Earth Observation Satellite (Eos) series also offers similar observation data. It is important to note that ISRO’s satellite data and imagery are purely for Indian usage, and aren’t generally retailed commercially to other countries.
Why does this sector matter?
Space surveillance is a crucial resource in unmanned warfare. Current global conflicts, such as the Iran war, have shown that most strikes are being driven by advanced remote ballistic missiles, strategic drone strikes, all of which are operated through central AI-integrated terminals that rely heavily on satellite surveillance imagery.
But not all countries have space resources in orbit, and the US is a lopsided leader in this space. This gives India room to chip in.
Aren’t defence laws a roadblock for surveillance?
A draft space law is still in the making in India, currently undergoing inter-ministerial consultations. The latter is likely to regulate upon sale and export of space surveillance from the country, but this has not been finalized yet. However, current laws around satellite communications mandate localization of satellite data in Indian ground stations, albeit for communications.
At present, space startups do not face a clear roadblock from Indian laws that may prevent them from providing commercial satellite data to other countries. India’s push to capture larger global space revenue is a key reason for this.
How do global laws intersect in space?
One major challenge that Indian space firms face are the laws in the US, the world leader in space surveillance. For satellite firms to be successful, the US market is an inevitable one to partake in.
However, supplying to the US government requires companies to be compliant with its geospatial shutter control rules, where the US government can dictate which countries a company can or cannot sell its satellite surveillance data to. In the current conflict, non-compliance with US laws may mean losing out on key business, but winning contracts from West Asia.