Bengaluru: Earth’s orbit is becoming increasingly congested, with Indian satellites navigating a growing risk of collisions. In 2025, more than 1.5 lakh close-approach alerts were issued for Indian space assets, underscoring the pressures of operating in a crowded orbital environment.
According to the Indian Space Situational Assessment Report 2025, around 1.6 lakh alerts were recorded globally, many generated by the US Space Command’s Combined Space Operations Center. Each alert indicates a potential near miss, reflecting how densely packed orbital paths have become amid a surge in satellite launches.
The rapid expansion of satellite constellations — often involving over 100 satellites deployed in a single day — has reduced reaction times and made tracking more complex.
For ISRO, this has translated into heightened vigilance. Indian missions carried out 18 collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAMs) during the year — 14 in low Earth orbit and four in geosynchronous orbit — to avoid potential threats. The report noted that all manoeuvre plans underwent detailed risk assessments, leading to revisions in 82 plans for low Earth orbit satellites and two for geosynchronous satellites to prevent post-manoeuvre close approaches.
Deep-space missions were also affected. The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter performed 16 orbit adjustments, with two plans modified to mitigate collision risks.
Globally, space activity surged in 2025, with 315 successful launches placing 4,651 objects into orbit — a sharp increase from 254 launches in 2024 and 212 in 2023. Of these, 4,198 are operational satellites. Although 1,911 objects re-entered the atmosphere, the total number of objects in orbit continues to rise.
With active satellites expected to outnumber space debris within this decade, the need for tighter coordination and collision avoidance is becoming increasingly urgent as more objects travel through limited orbital corridors at high speeds.
