The Integrated Space Cell was the nodal agency within the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

with oversight of the security of its space based military and civilian hardware systems. It was to be jointly operated by all the three services of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

, the civilian

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, head ...

and the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...

(ISRO). This agency was superseded by Defence Space Agency in 2019. As of April 2025, India has plans to have a constellation of 52 dedicated military satellites.Military space doctrine & national military space policy on the anvil, says CDS Gen Chauhan
The Print, 7 April 2025.

Description

The Integrated Space Cell had been set up to utilise more effectively the country's space-based assets for military purposes and to look into threats to these assets. It functioned under the Integrated Defense Services headquarters of the Indian Ministry of Defense. This command leveraged space technology including

satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientif ...

. Unlike an aerospace command, where the air force controls most of its activities, the Integrated Space Cell envisaged cooperation and coordination between the three services as well as civilian agencies dealing with space. The armed forces are increasingly depending on satellites for

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

, aircraft and missile guidance,

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and surveillance. Satellites are also essential for civilian purposes such as

weather forecasting Weather forecasting or weather prediction is the application of science and technology forecasting, to predict the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather info ...

, disaster management and communications. This had made it important to work out measures to protect India's space-based assets.

Formation

The formation of an Integrated Space Cell was announced on 10 June 2010 by the former Defence Minister A. K. Antony who said it was being established because of "''the growing threat''" to India's space assets. "''Offensive counter-space systems like anti-satellite weaponry, new classes of heavy-lift and small boosters and an improved array of military space systems have emerged in our neighbourhood''" stressing that these need to be countered. Announcing its setting up, Antony said while India remains committed to non-weaponisation of space, emergence of offensive counter space systems and anti-satellite weaponry posed new threats which had to be countered. The defense minister's announcement comes about 16 months after India's then chief of air staff,

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Shashi Tyagi, told the media that India was "''in the process of setting up an aerospace command to exploit outer space by integrating its capabilities''". The Integrated Space Cell has apparently been operational for six months before its formal announcement by Defence Minister Shri. A. K. Antony. The announcement came less than a month after China used a medium-range

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

to shoot down one of its own aging satellites, a Chinese Fengyun 1C polar orbit weather satellite that it had launched into orbit in 1999. With that, China displayed to the world that it had the technology to knock out a satellite in space, expertise that only two other countries - Russia and the United States have. On 27 March 2019 India also demonstrated this technology by knocking one of its own satellites, making it the fourth nation after

U.S The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Russia and China to do so. But there are broader reasons behind its formation, especially with the

relying more on space-based assets for

and

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

Military satellites

As of December 2018, the IRS system is the largest constellation of

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an physical object, object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring inform ...

satellites for civilian use in operation today in the world which also has the dual military use, with 14 operational satellites including the latest at least 4 dedicated military use ( GSAT-7, GSAT-6 and GSAT-7A, EMISAT by DRDO), however GSAT-6A which was launched as a dedicated satellite for army lost communication after its launch, and HySIS and Microsat-R satellites as of 24 January 2019 are dual use satellite available to military also.Why Isro's Gsat-7A launch is important for the Indian Air Force
Times of India, 19 Dec 2018.India launches military satellite
Times of India, 25 January 2019. Of the 900+ operational satellites, there are 320 dual use or dedicated military satellite in the sky, half of which are owned by United States alone, followed by Russia, China and India (14), as of 24 January 2018. All these Indian satellites are placed in polar Sun-synchronous orbit and provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions. Though most are not meant to be dedicated military satellites, some have a spatial resolution of 1 metre or below which can be also used for military applications. The following is a noteworthy list of satellites:

Anti-satellite weapons

# Microsat-R satellite was launched and it served as a target for Indian anti-satellite weapon experiment in which it was successfully destroyed by India's anti-satellite missile.

Military satellites in use

Operational Decommissioned

Requirement for additional military satellites

As aftermath of 2020 China–India skirmishes, the Indian security agencies have requested the government for additional four to six satellites with high resolution sensors and cameras to keep an eye on individuals and small objections on and across Line of Actual Control.Security agencies seek four to six dedicated satellites for keeping close eye on Chinese military activities
''Times of India'', 6 Aug 2020.

Anti Satellite Weapon Test

On 27 March 2019, Indian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

announced the successful launch of India's first ASAT. The interceptor was able to strike a test

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

at a 300-kilometre (186 mi) altitude in low Earth orbit (LEO), thus successfully testing its ASAT

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

. The interceptor was launched at around 05:40 UTC at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur,

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and hit its target Microsat-R after 168 seconds. The operation was named Mission Shakti. The missile system was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)—a research wing of the Indian defence services. With this test, India became the fourth nation with anti-satellite missile capabilities. India stated that this capability is a deterrent and is not directed against any nation.https://dbpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/dbpost.com/doval-to-draft-space-policy-after-successful-asat-test/amp/?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fdbpost.com%2Fdoval-to-draft-space-policy-after-successful-asat-test%2F

References

External links

Now, space cell to keep an eye on China's plans

India to set up tri-service Aerospace Command
{{Indian space programme Military of India Space agencies 2010 establishments in India