Overview
- In a March 18 reply to the Lok Sabha, the government reported 129 trackable objects from Indian space missions currently in orbit.
- The count includes 49 defunct satellites, with 23 in low Earth orbit and 26 in geostationary orbit.
- Other items comprise rocket bodies from PSLV (40), GSLV (4) and LVM3 (3), plus 33 fragments from an in‑orbit breakup of the PSLV‑C3 stage.
- The Debris Free Space Mission, launched in 2024, targets zero new debris by 2030, and ISRO has institutionalised extra fuel margins at the design phase for end‑of‑life disposal.
- Space situational awareness is managed through Netra and IS4OM; Netra has Rs 509.01 crore sanctioned with Rs 67.77 crore spent by February 2026, issues collision‑avoidance advisories, and ISRO’s 2025 SpaDeX mission demonstrated autonomous rendezvous and robotic manipulation as steps toward active debris removal.