Azista Space demonstrates India's first indigenous in-orbit snooping capability

Key facts

• Azista Space has become the first Indian aerospace firm to demonstrate in-orbit snooping by capturing images of the International Space Station (ISS) from another satellite.
• The demonstration was conducted using the ABA First Runner (AFR), an 80-kg indigenous earth-observation satellite.
• The AFR satellite was launched into space on 13 June 2023, by the Falcon-9 rocket of SpaceX as part of the Transporter-8 mission.
• The company successfully tracked the ISS at ranges of approximately 250 km and 300 km, capturing 15 distinct frames with 2.2m sampling.
• Azista Space operates a satellite and payload manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, which is capable of producing 50 satellites annually.
• This achievement is a significant step towards strengthening India's Space Situational Awareness (SSA), which involves monitoring and tracking man-made satellites and space debris.
• Personnel from the firm have been involved in over 12 missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).