The first commercial space surveillance satellite in history, called SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking), was successfully put into service by Digantara, an Indian start-up based in Bangalore. On board SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rocket, this satellite was launched on January 14, 2025, and it started operating on March 9 of the same year.
As it flew across South America, SCOT’s first photograph showed the metropolis of Buenos Aires blazing against the planet’s curvature, providing a breathtaking glimpse of Earth’s limb.
With a high revisit rate for frequent and accurate observations of orbital activity, SCOT is made to follow and monitor objects as small as 5 cm in orbit around the Earth.
Digantara CEO Anirudh Sharma stated, “SCOT’s first image is more than just a technical milestone, it’s a symbol of our team’s resilience and unwavering commitment to safeguarding Earth’s orbits for generations to come.”
The satellite’s sun-synchronous orbit enables it to track objects in Low Earth Orbit more effectively than current sensors, which are frequently constrained by geographic limitations, weather, and fields of vision.
By giving satellite operators and regulatory agencies reliable and precise data, this capacity is essential for reducing the danger of collisions and advancing sustainable space operations, particularly as space gets more crowded.
Digantara received congratulations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the accomplishment of Mission SCOT, pointing out that it has improved space situational awareness in the Indian space industry.
Digantara was commended by former ISRO Chairman S Somanath for showcasing India’s unique space-based situational awareness capacity with SCOT-1.
