India’s Digantara Enters US, Inks Deal With ArianeGroup

Eyeing a larger market share and to boost its top line, India’s space surveillance and intelligence company Digantara has entered the lucrative US market. In the US, Digantara has opened its office in the state of Colorado eyeing defence contracts and targeting a top line of about $25-$30 million over the next two years. Industry estimates put the global space surveillance and intelligence or space situational awareness market at about $60 billion.

Digantara Investing in Colorado

Digantara has invested over $1 million to date and will further invest between $10 – $15 million over the next six to eight months to set up a dedicated facility for spacecraft manufacturing and space optics production in Colorado. The Colorado facility will play a critical role in supporting the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) needs of the US.

“In recognition, the State of Colorado has pledged close to $1 million in operational incentives to accelerate Digantara’s expansion into the US,” Digantara said.

Digantara enters the US market with a significant headway, having secured active contracts with multiple Department of Defense agencies, including the USAF and Space Force.

The company is also engaged in flagship programmes that cater to the direct need of the customer, led by Space Rapid Capability Office (Space RCO), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD), and Space Systems Command’s Space Domain Awareness Tools, Applications and Processing (SDA TAP) Lab in building advanced SSA capabilities.

Digantara recently orbited its space surveillance satellite SCOT aboard SpaceX Transporter 12 on a ride share contract. The satellite can track objects as small as 5cm in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The ArianeGroup MoU

Digantara also said it had inked an MoU with ArianeGroup in Milan. According to Digantara, the strategic partnership focuses on improving space traffic management worldwide by delivering accurate, real-time data for space operations. By combining ArianeGroup’s Helix optical ground-based sensor network with Digantara’s advanced ground and space-based sensor network, there will be a multi-modal data pool for Space Situational awareness. This ecosystem will support better decision-making, improve mission safety, and facilitate the management of increasingly crowded orbits.

“Partnering with ArianeGroup brings together two complementary sensor networks to provide persistent surveillance capability and deliver precise orbital insights,” said Sharma.

“This collaboration will combine the strengths of our Helix optical detection network with Digantara’s in-orbit optical detection capabilities,” added Hélène Blanchard, Head of ArianeGroup Security in Space Programmes.

The Helix space surveillance service developed and operated by ArianeGroup is used to detect, track and characterise space objects. With permanent 24/7 surveillance, it provides extremely precise positioning and orbit tracking data for space objects in all orbits.

The Helix services are tailored to the needs of civil and defense satellite operators: surveillance of space assets, identification and cataloguing of objects, photometric characterisation, space traffic management, detection of manoeuvres, decision-making aids, anti-collision services.