Indian startup’s commercial space surveillance sat begins operations

NEW DELHI: An Indian startup’s commercial space surveillance satellite, capable of tracking objects as small as 5cm orbiting the Earth, was commissioned last Saturday as it captured images over South America.

“Space just ran out of hiding spots,” Bengaluru start-up Digantara said in a post on X as its satellite SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking) started operations.

Digantara had launched SCOT on Jan 14 aboard Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rocket.

In a statement, the company said the SCOT satellite achieved first light on Saturday and its inaugural image while passing over South America — a breathtaking view of Earth’s limb, with the city of Buenos Aires glowing against the planet’s curvature.

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