The Indian Space Situational Awareness Report for 2025 (ISSAR-2025) shows that 2025 was the most active year in space history, with 315 successful launches placing 4,198 satellites into orbit. This expansion, driven largely by large satellite constellations, added 4,651 new objects to the space environment and significantly increased orbital congestion. As a result, Space Situational Awareness (SSA), defined as the tracking, prediction, and management of objects in orbit to prevent collisions, has become critical. Approximately 1.6 lakh close-approach alerts were recorded globally during the year.
In this context, India’s space operations reflected both scale and risk management. ISRO conducted 5 launches from Sriharikota and maintained 53 operational satellites, including 22 in Low Earth Orbit and 31 in Geostationary Orbit. To safeguard these assets, India executed 18 Collision Avoidance Manoeuvres (CAMs), with 14 in Low Earth Orbit and 4 in Geostationary Orbit, based on continuous SSA monitoring.
Notably, the SpaDeX mission demonstrated autonomous docking and robotic manipulation, marking a critical step toward future active debris removal and in-orbit servicing capabilities.
Key Highlights from ISSAR-2025
Global Launch Record: 328 launch attempts resulted in 315 successes, the highest ever recorded.
Collision Avoidance: ISRO analyzed over 1.5 lakh alerts, leading to 18 CAMs and the revision of 82 manoeuvre plans to ensure spaceflight safety.
Re-entries: 1,911 catalogued objects re-entered the atmosphere, including 12 Indian objects.
Deep Space Events: Chandrayaan-2 performed 16 orbit manoeuvres, and the Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module successfully completed a lunar flyby.
Human Spaceflight: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla made history commanding the private Axiom 4 mission to the International Space Station.
Lunar Surge: Four lunar missions were launched by private players in 2025, including the first private soft landing by Blue Ghost Mission 1.
DFSM 2030 Goal: Efforts continued towards Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM), which aims for debris-free space missions by all Indian space actors, both governmental and non-governmental, by 2030.
What is "Space Situational Awareness (SSA)"?
Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is the practice of tracking objects in orbit—including active satellites and "space junk" (debris), to prevent collisions and ensure safe operations.
Because objects in space travel at extremely high speeds (thousands of kilometers per hour), even a tiny piece of debris can destroy a million-dollar satellite. For ISRO, SSA involves using radars and telescopes to monitor these objects 24/7. This data allows mission control to move a satellite out of harm's way (a Collision Avoidance Manoeuvre) if an alert shows a high risk of impact.
Policy Relevance
Ensures National Asset Safety: With 53 operational satellites providing communication and weather data, SSA is essential for protecting India’s critical infrastructure from orbital collisions.
Drives "Debris Free Space Mission" (DFSM): India’s goal to achieve debris-free missions by 2030 requires strict compliance with de-orbiting guidelines and advanced technologies like the SpaDeX docking system.
Enhances Indigenous Capacity: Through the NETRA project, India is establishing its own tracking radars in the North-East and telescopes in Ladakh to reduce reliance on foreign space data.
Promotes Global Responsibility: Proactive de-orbiting (like raising the IRNSS-1D to a graveyard orbit) reinforces India's standing as a responsible spacefaring nation in international forums like the UN and IADC.
Follow the Report Here: ISSAR-2025 Executive Summary