India in the Era of Rising Space Weaponization

This editorial is based on “India has an admirable record as a global space power. But it needs to do more to close gap with China” which was published in The Indian Express on 11/04/2025. The article brings into picture the strategic transformation of India’s space program—from peaceful exploration to a pressing need for military preparedness. With rising global counter-space threats, it underscores the urgency for India to strengthen its defense space architecture and safeguard its orbital assets.

For Prelims: China’s PLA Strategic Support Force, Mission Shakti, Russia-Ukraine war,  China’s Yaogan satellite, SpaceX, Kessler Syndrome, 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Hypersonic glide vehicle. 

For Mains: Space as a New Frontier of Warfare, Key Issues Associated with Rising Weaponisation of Space for India.

India's evolution as a space power reflects the global shift from exploration to expansion. While achieving impressive technological milestones including satellite launches, lunar missions, and anti-satellite capabilities, India now faces a critical juncture. As CDS General Anil Chauhan emphasized recently, “warfare increasingly depends on space dominance”. With adversaries rapidly developing counter-space capabilities, India must accelerate its military space program to protect its strategic interests in this new frontier of national security. 

How Space is Becoming the New Frontier of Warfare?  

• Militarization of Space by Global Powers: Space is no longer a passive domain of exploration; major powers are actively developing offensive and defensive space capabilities.  
  • The formation of dedicated space forces (e.g., U.S. Space Force) marks a shift toward treating space as a potential combat zone. Countries now see space assets as strategic multipliers in terrestrial conflicts. 
  • For instance, in the US more than 60% of the Space Force budget, about $19.2 billion worth, is aimed at research, development, testing and evaluation. 
    • China’s PLA Strategic Support Force has integrated space operations into military doctrine. 
• Satellite Targeting and Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Weapons: The weaponization of space is evident in the testing of anti-satellite weapons. Destroying enemy satellites can cripple navigation, communication, and surveillance during wars. This adds a new vulnerability in the modern battlefield. 
  • India’s 2019 “Mission Shakti” demonstrated ASAT capability. In 2021, Russia’s ASAT test created over 1,500 trackable pieces of debris, threatening orbital safety. 
• Cyber Warfare in Space Systems: Satellites are vulnerable not only to kinetic strikes but also to cyberattacks that can disrupt command and control.  
  • Cyberattacks on space assets can disable early warning systems or manipulate data. It offers low-cost, deniable avenues of warfare. 
  • In 2022, the KA-SAT cyberattack during the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted Viasat satellite services.  
• Dual-use Satellites and Espionage: Satellites increasingly have dual-use purposes, serving both civilian and military needs, making them tools for peacetime surveillance and wartime targeting. Nations use earth observation satellites for military intelligence under the guise of civilian use. 
  • For instance, China’s Yaogan satellite series is known for military surveillance despite being officially labeled "remote sensing."  
  • After the collapse of the Soviet Union, National Reconnaissance Office systems became ever more integrated into U.S. military capabilities, playing a critical role in the Gulf War. 
• Private Sector Involvement in Military Conflicts: Private players like SpaceX and Planet Labs are actively shaping modern conflicts by providing real-time intelligence and internet services.  
  • This blurs lines between civilian and military actors, creating new legal and strategic dilemmas. 
  • During the Ukraine war, Starlink enabled uninterrupted communication for Ukrainian forces. Planet Labs provided commercial satellite images to track Russian troop movements. 
  • In 2022, Germany’s Enercon reported a “major disruption” to satellite communications across Europe, which impacted the remote monitoring and control of around 5,800 wind turbines in Central Europe. 
• Space Debris as a Strategic Concern: With increasing militarization, intentional or accidental creation of space debris can be used to deny orbital access — a form of passive-aggressive warfare. The resulting Kessler Syndrome can paralyze space infrastructure. 
  • As of 2024, there are approximately 36,500 pieces of space debris larger than 10 cm orbiting Earth, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).  
    • China's 2007 ASAT test alone generated ~3,000 pieces of debris still tracked today. 
• Lack of Regulatory Framework for Space Conflicts: There is no robust global treaty to regulate military behavior in outer space beyond the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.  
  • The absence of binding enforcement mechanisms allows unchecked militarization. 
  • The Outer Space Treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in outer space in space but not conventional weapons.  
    • The UN's Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Space Threats has seen limited consensus due to geopolitical rivalry.

What are the Key Issues Associated with Rising Weaponisation of Space for India? 

• Strategic Vulnerability and Deterrence Gap: The militarisation of space by rivals like China increases India's strategic exposure, as it lacks a matching offensive or defensive space force.  
  • This asymmetry threatens deterrence stability, especially in the event of cross-domain conflicts.  
  • India’s space assets are crucial for communication, surveillance, and targeting; their loss would cripple conventional operations.  
  • For instance, China is believed to have at least one, and as many as three, direct-ascent ASAT (anti-satellite) systems, or DA-ASAT, while India has only one (Mission Shakti, 2019). 
    • China's PLA has integrated space capabilities via its Strategic Support Force, giving it a joint warfare edge. 
• Arms Race and Escalation Dynamics: Weaponisation accelerates an arms race in space, prompting adversarial capabilities that increase the risk of miscalculation and crisis instability. 
  • India may be compelled to allocate disproportionate resources to keep pace, straining conventional and nuclear postures.  
  • Escalation in one domain (like cyber or terrestrial) could quickly spill into space.  For instance, China’s hypersonic glide vehicle (2021) used space for trajectory masking—blurring the line between missile and space threats. 
• Economic and Commercial Disruption: The space arms race threatens India’s fast-growing commercial space economy, particularly its satellite launch and data services sectors. 
  • Weaponisation raises insurance costs, deters foreign collaboration, and jeopardizes satellite constellations.  
  • Any debris-generating conflict or accident would disproportionately affect India's value-sensitive missions. It could also divert ISRO's civilian focus toward defense requirements. 
  • For instance, India’s space economy is projected to reach $13 billion by 2025, with the space tech sector growing 235% in two years. Any disruption in this can hinder India’s economic progress. 
• Environmental and Orbital Debris Threat: The militarisation of space increases the risk of collisions, debris generation, and long-term orbital instability, affecting India's access to key orbital slots.  
  • Unlike terrestrial pollution, space debris is near-permanent and can trigger cascading. India, with over 29 operational satellites in LEO (as of January 2024), is highly vulnerable to even minor debris incidents. Its ability to launch sustainable and safe missions is now in question. 
    • According to a recent report, the ISRO had to carry out 23 collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM) in 2023 to save its satellites from harm by space debris, highlighting the criticality of the issue.  
• Technological Lag and Capability Gaps: India lags behind in developing cutting-edge counter-space systems such as space-based lasers, jamming-resistant satellites, or AI-powered SSA.  
  • This gap reduces India's ability to deter adversaries and protect its orbital assets proactively.  
  • Indigenous R&D is underfunded compared to peer rivals, and DRDO/ISRO's defense-civil synergy is still evolving. Dependence on foreign components also raises cyber-vulnerability. 
  • Isro's current annual budget of approximately $1.6 billion is significantly smaller compared to other major space agencies. 
    • NASA operates with a budget exceeding $25 billion, and China’s CNSA gets over $18 billion.
      

Do You Know?

What are the Key Major Space Conventions & Treaties?  

• Outer Space Treaty (1967): Prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons in space and declares outer space free for exploration by all. 
• Rescue Agreement (1968): Mandates that astronauts in distress must be safely returned and provides for the return of space objects to their owners. 
• Liability Convention (1972): It provides that a launching State shall be absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space objects on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft, and liable for damage due to its faults in space. 
• Moon Agreement (1984): Declares the Moon and other celestial bodies as the “common heritage of mankind” and restricts their exploitation (not widely ratified). 
• UN COPOUS (Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space): Not a treaty, but a UN body responsible for promoting international cooperation in peaceful space exploration. 
• Artemis Accords (2020): A U.S.-led framework for responsible lunar exploration, emphasizing transparency, peaceful use, interoperability, and resource sharing.
  

What Measures can India Adopt to Enhance its Space Capabilities and Warfare Resilience? 

• Establish a Dedicated Space Command: India should institutionalize a full-fledged Space Command under its Integrated Defence structure to centralize space-based surveillance, early warning, and offensive capabilities.  
  • This will streamline tri-service coordination, doctrine development, and asset deployment in real-time during conflicts.  
  • It also helps separate space warfare from purely scientific missions.  
  • Operational control must include both ground-based and orbital counter-space tools. It should be fully interoperable with cyber and missile commands. 
• Boost Indigenous Counter-Space Tech: India must urgently invest in scalable counter-space capabilities like co-orbital ASAT systems, electronic warfare, directed-energy weapons, and satellite jammers.  
  • Focus should be on modular, cost-effective, and reusable platforms with dual-use utility. Collaborating with DRDO, startups, and academia under a mission-mode program can bridge tech gaps quickly.  
    • These tools must be integrated into a layered deterrence framework, not just reactive defense. 
• Enhance Space Situational Awareness (SSA): A robust, real-time SSA network is essential for monitoring adversary activities, tracking debris, and ensuring satellite safety. 
  • India must develop both ground-based radar arrays and space-based optical tracking systems.  
  • This system should feed into an integrated threat-alert grid accessible to defense, ISRO, and commercial operators.  
    • Establishing regional SSA cooperation with friendly nations can expand coverage.  
• Formulate a National Space Doctrine: India must craft a clear, publicly articulated space security doctrine to define red lines, deterrence posture, escalation thresholds, and rules of engagement, this can supplement India Space Policy 2023. 
  • This will guide capability development, R&D investments, and military-industrial alignment.  
  • It also signals strategic intent to allies and adversaries, deterring miscalculation. This doctrine must align with nuclear and cyber doctrines, ensuring cross-domain synergy. 
    • A strong policy basis legitimizes funding and institutional reforms. 
• Foster Civil-Military-Private Integration in Space Tech: India should institutionalize civil-military-private synergy by creating defense-focused verticals within ISRO and IN-SPACe that collaborate with startups and academia.  
  • Military users must be involved early in mission planning and design. Private players should be incentivized to develop dual-use platforms and launch services under secure protocols.  
  • A dedicated space innovation fund, tech transfer schemes, and defense procurement incentives can catalyze rapid capability growth. 
• Lead Global Norms and Consensus-Building in Space Security: India must actively engage in shaping global norms and rules of the road to prevent arms race dynamics and move towards constructive use of space assets while safeguarding its interests.  
  • Championing responsible ASAT testing, debris mitigation norms, and space traffic management will boost its credibility.  
  • This also positions India as a balancer in US-China rivalry and opens strategic collaboration with middle powers.  
    • Diplomatic leadership in space security will enhance resilience without relying purely on hard power. 
• Invest in Space-Based Cybersecurity and Quantum Communications: With increasing satellite dependence, India must treat space cybersecurity as a core area of defense.  
  • Securing ground stations, satellite links, and inter-satellite communication against cyber sabotage is essential.  
  • Indigenous quantum communication experiments should be fast-tracked to achieve unbreakable encryption.  
  • Cyber-resilient command and control systems must be developed with zero-trust architecture.  
    • Joint DRDO-ISRO cyber cells should be created with real-time threat monitoring capabilities. 

Conclusion:  

With space emerging as the next battlefield of geopolitics, India must transition from being a passive observer to an assertive space power. Strengthening homegrown counter-space tech, establishing a dedicated Space Command, and shaping global space governance building upon the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space  are vital. As the risks of an orbital arms race grow, India's strategic autonomy hinges on securing the final frontier. 

Drishti Mains Question:

"With the growing militarization of outer space, the final frontier is fast becoming the new theatre of warfare." In this context, critically examine the challenges India faces in safeguarding its space assets.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Question (PYQ)  

Q.1  What is India’s plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? (2019) 

Q.2  Discuss India’s achievements in the field of Space Science and Technology. How the application of this technology helped India in its socio-economic development? (2016) 

Q.3 What is the main task of India’s third mood mission which could not be achieved in its earlier mission? List the countries that have achieved this task. Introduce the subsystems in the spacecraft launched and explain the role of the ‘Virtual Launch Control Centre’ at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre which contributed to the successful launch from Sriharikota. (2023)