NEW DELHI, Mar 18: A total of 129 trackable space debris originating from Indian satellite missions are in orbit as of March 2026, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, the minister said in low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), there are 23 and 26 defunct satellites, respectively.
There are also “rocket bodies remaining in orbit from PSLV (40), GSLV (4) and LVM3 (3), and debris generated due to in-orbit break-up of PSLV C3 rocket body (33),” said Singh.
The minister has also highlighted the Debris Free Space Mission (DFSM) initiative, announced in 2024, which aims for zero debris creation by all Indian actors, government and private, by 2030.
“As a step to achieve the DFSM objectives, ISRO has institutionalised the process to ensure extra fuel margins for both spacecraft and launch vehicles, during the mission design and project initialisation phase itself,” said the minister.
He has also stated that studies are underway on robotic arm, rendezvous, and proximity operations that serve as precursors to active debris removal.
“India achieved a significant milestone in 2025 through its SpaDeX mission, demonstrating autonomous rendezvous, docking and undocking capabilities. “A relocatable robotic arm and a robotic manipulator were also successfully demonstrated on the upper stage of the launch vehicle for this mission, namely the PS4 orbital experimental module or POEM-4 platform,” said the minister. (Agencies)
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