Orbital Rivalry — The Challenge of China's Counter-Space Power

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The Hindu | Editorial | June 2, 2026

China’‘s counter-space arsenal (kinetic ASAT, co-orbital interceptors, lasers) threatens India’'s limited satellite fleet. India must expand private space production, disaggregate platforms, and set escalation red lines.

The Argument in One Line

India’'s satellite architecture is not designed for wartime survivability — disaggregation, quick-reconstitution, and escalation red lines are the urgent requirements.

China’'s Counter-Space Tools

Tool	Detail
Kinetic DA-ASAT	SC-19 missile (tested 2007; created massive debris); suborbital tests 2013
Co-orbital satellites	“Inspector” satellites for proximity ops — can approach/disable adversary satellites
Laser dazzlers	Ground-based; temporarily blind imaging satellite sensors
Jammers	Ground-based; disrupt satellite communications and GPS

India’'s Space Milestones (UPSC map)

• ISRO established 1969; under Dept. of Space (reports to PM).
• Mission Shakti (2019) — India’s A-SAT test in LEO; “Mission Shakti”; done by DRDO.
• IN-SPACe — India’s commercial space regulator/enabler.
• NavIC — India’s regional navigation satellite system (7 operational satellites).

UPSC Relevance

Paper	Relevance
GS2	India-China relations; space security; outer space governance
GS3	Science & Tech — space; defence; counter-space capabilities
Prelims	Mission Shakti (2019); A-SAT; DRDO; IN-SPACe; Outer Space Treaty (1967); NavIC

Sources: The Hindu, ISRO, DRDO

Source: Orbital Rivalry — The Challenge of China's Counter-Space Power — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Editorial Analysis

Key Arguments at a Glance

China’s expanding counter-space arsenal — kinetic missiles, laser systems, and co-orbital satellites — poses an asymmetric threat to India’s limited and insufficiently redundant satellite fleet, and India must urgently expand private space production, disaggregate large satellite platforms, and establish escalation red lines to deter Chinese counter-space strikes.

✓ Supporting

• China has demonstrated Direct Ascent Anti-Satellite (DA-ASAT) capability (2007 SC-19 test; 2013 suborbital test); developed co-orbital “inspector” satellites capable of proximity operations; and deployed ground-based laser dazzlers and jammers against imaging satellites.
• India’s military communications, navigation (NavIC), surveillance, and weather satellite fleets are relatively small and concentrated — a few satellite kills could degrade India’s ISR and communications capacity significantly during a conflict.
• India lacks adequate on-orbit spares, quick-reconstitution capability, and disaggregated architectures (distributing functions across many small satellites rather than a few large ones).

⚠ Counter

Some argue India’s restrained approach to space militarisation has kept it out of an expensive and potentially destabilising arms race; existing agreements under the Outer Space Treaty (1967) prohibit WMDs in space and any damage to other nations’ satellites.

→ Way Forward

Accelerate India’s own ASAT capability development (A-SAT test completed in 2019 — Mission Shakti); invest in commercial small-satellite reconstitution (ISRO + private sector via IN-SPACe); pursue space-situational-awareness (SSA) sharing with the US; and engage in multilateral discussions on counter-space norms.