{"id":71847,"date":"2026-04-18T18:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T12:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71847"},"modified":"2026-04-18T18:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T12:39:47","slug":"space-awareness-report-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-04-2026\/space-awareness-report-2025","title":{"rendered":"Indian Space Situational Awareness Report 2025 (ISSAR-2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Science &amp; Technology; Space<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the <strong>Indian Space Situational Awareness Report for 2025 (ISSAR-2025) <\/strong>was <strong>released by ISRO<\/strong> during the inaugural session of the 2nd international conference on <strong>Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2026)<\/strong> at Bengaluru.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Findings of ISSAR-2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rising Space Congestion: <\/strong>Around 1.6 lakh close approach alerts globally, with over 1.5 lakh alerts for Indian satellites.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Growth of mega-constellations (Starlink, Kuiper, etc.) likely to further increase collision risks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Collision Avoidance Measures (CAMs): <\/strong>Total CAMs for Indian satellites include 14 manoeuvres (including NISAR mission) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), 4 manoeuvres in Geostationary Orbit (GEO),<strong> <\/strong>and 2 special adjustments for <strong>Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Orbit manoeuvre optimisation<\/strong> used to avoid dedicated CAMs wherever possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It reflects growing dependence on <strong>Space Situational Awareness (SSA)<\/strong> systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Record Space Activity in 2025: 328 launch attempts<\/strong> (highest ever), and <strong>315 successful launches;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>4,198 operational satellites added; <\/strong>and <strong>total 4,651 new space objects added<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These show exponential increase in <strong>space utilisation and commercialization<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Atmospheric Re-entries: 1,911 objects re-entered<\/strong> Earth\u2019s atmosphere in 2025 that include 1,002 spacecraft, 657 debris, 108 rocket bodies, and 144 unidentified.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is lower than 2024 due to reduced de-orbiting, and lower solar activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Growth of Satellite Constellations: <\/strong>Large constellations (e.g., <strong>Starlink, Kuiper<\/strong>) rapidly expanding. By the end of 2025, <strong>9,396 Starlink satellites are still in orbit.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Active satellites may outnumber space debris<\/strong>, increasing coordination complexity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Solar Activity Impact: <\/strong>Peak of <strong>Solar Cycle 25<\/strong> caused higher orbital decay rates, and increased early-year re-entries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>What is Space Debris?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Space debris<\/strong> refers to <strong>non-functional, human-made objects in outer space<\/strong> that no longer serve any useful purpose but continue to orbit the Earth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It includes defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, fragments from collisions or explosions, and tiny particles (paint flakes, metal pieces, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Features<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Found mainly in <strong>Low Earth Orbit (LEO)<\/strong> and <strong>Geostationary Orbit (GEO)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Travels at <strong>very high speeds (\u22487\u20138 km\/s)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Even small fragments can <strong>damage operational satellites<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Indian Space Scenario<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Total <strong>144 Indian spacecraft launched<\/strong> till 2025.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Operational satellites: <strong>22 in LEO; and 31 in GEO<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Active deep space missions: Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter; and Aditya-L1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>5 launches from Sriharikota<\/strong> in 2025; <strong>NASA-ISRO (NISAR)<\/strong> successfully launched; PSLV-C61 failure (suborbital anomaly); <strong>SpaDeX mission<\/strong> demonstrated docking capability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implications for India and the World<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Increasing Space Traffic Management Needs: <\/strong>More satellites lead to higher collision probability, and active satellites <strong>may outnumber debris.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Threat to Critical Infrastructure: <\/strong>Satellites support communication, navigation (NavIC), weather forecasting, and defence.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Any collision can disrupt essential services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kessler Syndrome Risk: <\/strong>Increasing congestion may lead to <strong>space traffic management challenges<\/strong> and risk of <strong>Kessler Syndrome<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cascade of collisions leading to <strong>unusable orbital zones.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Response and Preparedness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>ISRO\u2019s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Initiatives: <\/strong>Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) for continuous monitoring and risk mitigation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ISRO System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management <strong>(<\/strong><strong>IS4OM)<\/strong> as nodal SSA body.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indigenous radar &amp; telescope systems under development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM)<\/strong> target: <strong>debris-free missions by 2030<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Efficient Manoeuvre Planning: <\/strong>Adjusting routine orbit corrections to avoid separate <strong>Collision Avoidance Measures (CAMs)<\/strong>; and optimizing fuel and mission life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ISRO engages with private actors, in synergy with the <strong>Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe)<\/strong>, for handholding and experience sharing for best practices related to spaceflight safety.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>International Collaboration: <\/strong>Data sharing with global agencies (e.g., US Space Command)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India participates in <strong>Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC)<\/strong><strong>, <\/strong>and UN space sustainability initiatives<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coordination with international agencies for <strong>space safety<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/crowded-space-15-lakh-alerts-issued-for-indian-satellites-in-2025-debris-warning\/article70868533.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Recently, the Indian Space Situational Awareness Report for 2025 (ISSAR-2025) was released by ISRO during the inaugural session of the 2nd international conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2026) at Bengaluru. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Key Findings of ISSAR-2025 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Rising Space Congestion: Around 1.6 lakh close approach alerts globally, with over 1.5 lakh alerts for Indian satellites. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Growth of mega-constellations (Starlink, Kuiper, etc.) likely to further increase collision risks. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-04-2026\/space-awareness-report-2025 \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71847"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71851,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71847\/revisions\/71851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}