Digantara Unveils Indigenous MOSAIC Network for Autonomous Surveillance of Objects in Low Earth Orbit

Bengaluru-based space-domain awareness company Digantara has unveiled MOSAIC, an AI-powered distributed optical sensing architecture designed to autonomously detect, track and maintain custody of satellites, orbital debris and other objects moving through Low Earth Orbit.

The system was unveiled in August 2026, with Digantara describing MOSAIC as a sovereign space-surveillance capability built in India for wide-area orbital monitoring. Rather than depending only on conventional sensors tasked against known objects, MOSAIC is designed to continuously scan sections of the sky, identify moving objects autonomously and convert those observations into orbital intelligence.

The first deployment is planned around five sensor nodes operating together as a coordinated network. Each node combines wide-area optical sensing, onboard processing, timing and communications with artificial-intelligence and machine-learning algorithms intended to distinguish satellites and debris from the surrounding star field.

The development is significant because modern military, commercial and scientific operations increasingly depend on knowing not merely what satellites are expected to be overhead, but what objects are actually present, how they are manoeuvring and whether their behaviour differs from previously established patterns.

A Wide-Area Approach to Space Surveillance

Traditional optical space-surveillance systems are frequently operated through a tasking model. An operator selects an object already present in a catalogue, predicts when and where it will pass through the sky and directs a telescope towards that location to obtain additional observations.

MOSAIC is designed around a different concept.

Once deployed and pointed towards a defined region of the sky, the system can conduct broad-area scanning and automatically identify objects moving across its field of view. Artificial-intelligence and machine-learning algorithms help distinguish moving satellites and debris from stars, while onboard processing allows the node to perform much of this activity without continuous operator intervention.

This means the sensor does not necessarily need to know in advance which particular satellite it is searching for. Instead, it can observe the sky, identify objects that appear within its field of view and begin generating data that can be used to determine their orbital behaviour.

Such an architecture becomes increasingly valuable as the number of objects in orbit continues to expand.

Hundreds of Objects Can Be Detected Simultaneously

Digantara describes MOSAIC as a Wide Area Space Domain Awareness Sensing Architecture capable of detecting and tracking hundreds of orbital objects simultaneously.

Each node integrates wide-area optical sensors with edge-computing hardware and an integrated AI and machine-learning pipeline. The objective is to process observations close to the sensor rather than transferring every raw image to a distant data centre before useful information can be extracted.

Field reporting on the system indicates that an individual unit can typically collect observations on approximately 400 to 500 unique orbital objects during a night of operation, depending on observational conditions and deployment geometry. Multiple nodes facing different sectors of the sky can consequently expand the number of objects monitored and increase the frequency with which known spacecraft are observed.

This distributed structure also makes the surveillance network easier to expand. Additional nodes can be deployed in different geographic locations rather than relying entirely on a small number of very large fixed installations.

Initial Network to Comprise Five Nodes

The first MOSAIC deployment is being structured around five autonomous sensor nodes working as one coordinated surveillance network.

Each node functions as a self-contained electro-optical sensing station. According to Digantara’s description, the architecture incorporates an Optical Head Unit for precision imaging of the sky and an Electronics Head Unit responsible for onboard processing, timing, communications and autonomous operation.

The nodes are designed to operate independently using solar power supported by battery backup. The company has also engineered them for deployment under demanding Indian environmental conditions, ranging from the high temperatures of the Thar Desert to the extreme winter conditions encountered in Himalayan regions.

Such environmental resilience matters because the effectiveness of an optical surveillance network depends heavily on where its sensors can be deployed. High-altitude and low-light locations can offer valuable astronomical visibility, while geographically distributed stations provide access to different orbital tracks.

From Detecting Satellites to Maintaining ‘Custody’

Detecting a satellite once is only the beginning of meaningful space surveillance.

Objects in Low Earth Orbit travel at several kilometres per second and circle the planet in roughly 90 minutes. Their exact positions evolve continuously under the influence of orbital dynamics, atmospheric drag and deliberate manoeuvres.

Space-surveillance organisations therefore seek to maintain what is known as custody of important objects. This means obtaining observations frequently enough to maintain confidence in an object’s identity, trajectory and predicted future position.

An occasional detection can leave significant uncertainty about where a manoeuvring spacecraft will subsequently appear. Frequent observations allow orbital estimates to be updated and unexpected changes to be identified more rapidly.

MOSAIC is being developed specifically around this persistence requirement, with distributed sensors intended to increase the frequency at which orbital objects can be revisited and tracked.

Why Space Domain Awareness Has Become Strategically Important

Satellites have become integral to modern military operations.

Navigation, secure communications, missile warning, Earth observation, weather forecasting, reconnaissance and intelligence collection all depend increasingly on orbital systems. Military forces therefore need to understand what spacecraft are operating above areas of strategic interest and how those spacecraft are behaving.

A foreign Earth-observation satellite passing above a sensitive military region, for example, can collect imagery useful for intelligence analysis. An electronic-intelligence satellite may monitor emissions from radars and communications equipment. Other spacecraft can provide navigation, communications or missile-warning support to military operations.

Space Domain Awareness seeks to build a comprehensive picture of these activities.

The objective is not merely to know that a satellite exists, but to understand its orbital behaviour, likely mission, manoeuvres and relationship with other spacecraft.

MOSAIC is intended to contribute sensor data to precisely this type of operational picture.

Sovereign Surveillance Reduces Dependence on External Data

Much of the world’s most extensive publicly accessible orbital tracking infrastructure has historically been operated by the United States and other established space powers.

Commercial companies also provide increasingly sophisticated space-surveillance and Earth-imaging services.

Such data can be extremely useful, but strategic dependence on external providers can create limitations during periods of geopolitical or military tension. Access policies, update frequency, classification restrictions and commercial availability may all affect what information is obtainable at a particular moment.

Digantara is positioning MOSAIC as an Indian-controlled sensing architecture capable of contributing indigenous orbital data to national users. The system is intended to reduce reliance on foreign commercial or government surveillance sources for time-sensitive tracking requirements.

This does not eliminate the value of international and commercial data. Instead, it gives India another independent source that can be combined with information obtained through other sensors.

Operation Sindoor Highlighted the Importance of Space-Based Intelligence

Digantara has explicitly connected the development of stronger sovereign space-domain awareness with lessons emerging from modern military operations, including Operation Sindoor.

The operation demonstrated how closely contemporary warfare is linked to satellite-enabled intelligence, navigation, communications and reconnaissance. Indian remote-sensing assets including Cartosat and RISAT-family systems contributed to the country’s broader space-based intelligence architecture, while commercial satellite imagery also formed part of the wider information environment surrounding the conflict.

The larger lesson extends beyond Earth imaging.

Military planners increasingly need to know which satellites are passing over operational areas, when they will return and whether previously predictable spacecraft have altered their orbits.

An indigenous space-surveillance system can therefore contribute to counter-space awareness even without physically interfering with another spacecraft.

Knowledge itself becomes a defensive capability.

Knowing When Surveillance Satellites Are Overhead

One practical application of space-domain awareness is predicting the passage of foreign reconnaissance satellites.

Imaging spacecraft usually follow predictable orbital patterns, allowing their ground tracks and approximate observation opportunities to be calculated. More sophisticated satellites can manoeuvre, however, altering their trajectories or revisiting regions in ways that may not be immediately reflected in older orbital catalogues.

A sovereign sensor network capable of independently observing these spacecraft can help update orbital estimates and identify unexpected behaviour.

For sensitive military operations, knowing when an imaging or electronic-intelligence satellite may be overhead can influence camouflage, concealment, movement and emission-control procedures.

Persistent orbital surveillance therefore has a direct relationship with operations taking place on the ground.

AI Helps Separate Satellites from the Star Field

Automating wide-area optical surveillance requires sophisticated image processing.

A ground-based optical sensor staring at the night sky records enormous numbers of stars alongside satellites, aircraft, atmospheric effects and sensor noise. A useful surveillance system must rapidly determine which detections represent orbital objects.

MOSAIC employs AI and machine-learning techniques to distinguish Resident Space Objects from stars and process the resulting observations automatically.

This edge-processing approach reduces the burden on human operators and allows large volumes of observations to be analysed continuously.

Automation becomes increasingly important as orbital traffic grows. A surveillance system tracking a few hundred satellites can rely heavily on manual processes; an environment containing tens of thousands of satellites and debris objects requires much greater machine assistance.

Growing Satellite Numbers Are Changing the Tracking Problem

Low Earth Orbit has become dramatically more crowded over the past decade.

Large commercial constellations now operate alongside government reconnaissance spacecraft, communications satellites, Earth-observation missions, scientific spacecraft and substantial quantities of debris.

Thousands of additional satellites are expected to be launched as broadband constellations and national space programmes expand.

The result is a surveillance problem fundamentally different from that faced during the early decades of the space age.

Space operators must simultaneously track active satellites, inactive spacecraft, rocket stages and fragments while also distinguishing routine manoeuvres from potentially unusual activity.

Distributed sensors and automated analytics are therefore becoming central to modern Space Situational Awareness.

Space Situational Awareness and Space Domain Awareness Are Different

The terms Space Situational Awareness and Space Domain Awareness are often used interchangeably, but they address somewhat different objectives.

Space Situational Awareness generally focuses on understanding the physical environment in orbit. This includes tracking satellites and debris, predicting conjunctions and preventing collisions.

Space Domain Awareness extends the concept towards operational and security intelligence.

It seeks to understand not only where an object is located but also what it may be doing, whether its behaviour has changed and what that activity means for national security or mission operations.

Digantara increasingly describes itself as a space-domain awareness and defence-intelligence company, reflecting this broader strategic orientation.

MOSAIC provides the sensing layer required to feed such analysis.

MOSAIC Feeds into Digantara’s Wider AIRA Architecture

The optical network is not being developed as an isolated sensor system.

Digantara has built a broader space-intelligence architecture called AIRA, designed to combine information from different orbital and terrestrial sensing sources and transform the resulting data into actionable intelligence.

The company’s current ground infrastructure includes multiple observatories supporting automated tracking from Low Earth Orbit through Geostationary Earth Orbit. Digantara says its wider network currently includes ten active observatories with remote tasking and automation capability.

AIRA is designed to integrate optical, infrared, radar and partner-generated data rather than depend upon one sensor category alone.

This multi-sensor architecture is important because every surveillance method has limitations. Optical systems perform especially well under clear, dark conditions, while radar and other sensing technologies can provide complementary capabilities.

Ground-Based and Space-Based Sensors Can Work Together

Digantara has also been developing space-based surveillance capability.

The company launched its SCOT — Space Camera for Object Tracking — satellite as part of its effort to observe resident space objects directly from orbit.

Combining orbital sensors with ground-based systems creates a more resilient surveillance architecture because each platform sees the orbital environment from a different perspective.

Ground stations can provide persistent coverage from established locations, while satellites can obtain observations unavailable to terrestrial sensors due to weather, daylight or geographic limitations.

Data fusion allows these different observations to be combined into progressively more accurate orbital models.

MOSAIC therefore expands the ground segment of a broader Indian space-domain awareness architecture rather than functioning as the company’s only tracking capability.

Mobile Architecture Increases Survivability

One of MOSAIC’s noteworthy design features is its mobile and independently deployable architecture.

Large fixed surveillance installations can provide exceptional performance, but their location is known and their geographic coverage is predetermined.

Smaller modular nodes can instead be relocated, distributed and configured according to operational requirements.

From a defence perspective, distribution also improves resilience. A surveillance system dependent on a single major sensor can suffer a significant capability loss when that site becomes unavailable. A network containing numerous autonomous nodes can continue operating even when individual sensors are offline.

This distributed philosophy mirrors changes taking place across modern military communications, radar and satellite architectures, where resilience increasingly depends upon avoiding excessive concentration.

Potential Beyond Low Earth Orbit

Although MOSAIC has been introduced primarily around continuous surveillance of Low Earth Orbit, Digantara’s wider optical tracking architecture extends towards higher orbital regimes.

Company information indicates that its ground network supports scanning and persistent tracking from LEO to Geostationary Earth Orbit, where some of the world’s most strategically important communications and early-warning satellites operate.

Different orbital regimes present different observational problems. LEO spacecraft move rapidly across the sky, whereas GEO satellites appear comparatively stable but are much farther away and therefore considerably fainter.

Building sensors and analytics capable of operating across these regimes expands the potential value of the network for both civilian space safety and national security.

Tracking Debris Is Equally Important

Not every object detected by MOSAIC will be an operational satellite.

Earth orbit contains large quantities of debris generated by spent launch vehicles, failed spacecraft, collisions and fragmentation events.

Even relatively small objects can damage or destroy operational satellites because collisions occur at extremely high relative velocities.

Accurate tracking therefore supports collision avoidance as well as defence intelligence.

Satellite operators need updated orbital information to determine whether two objects are likely to pass dangerously close to one another and whether an evasive manoeuvre is required.

An expanded Indian sensor network can contribute additional observations to improve these predictions.

Data Quality Matters as Much as Detection

A useful surveillance system must do more than report that an object has crossed the sky.

Repeated observations must be sufficiently accurate to refine its orbit and predict where it will be hours or days later.

Digantara states that its wider ground-observatory network can achieve tracking precision of one arcsecond or better, while its AIRA architecture is designed to fuse observations and reduce uncertainty through cross-verification of multiple data sources.

This becomes particularly important for manoeuvring satellites, where older orbital estimates can quickly become unreliable.

Frequent measurements allow the system to identify discrepancies between predicted and observed motion and generate updated trajectories.

Celestial Navigation Could Become Another Application

Digantara has also identified celestial navigation in GPS-denied environments as a possible extension of the technologies developed around MOSAIC.

Celestial navigation determines position and orientation by observing known stars or other celestial references rather than relying exclusively on satellite-navigation signals.

Such capability has obvious strategic value because satellite navigation can be jammed, spoofed or disrupted during conflict.

AI-enabled optical sensing capable of identifying star patterns and determining the orientation of a sensor relative to the sky can therefore have applications beyond orbital surveillance.

The same underlying technologies involving precision optics, machine vision and automated astronomical identification can contribute to resilient navigation systems for military and aerospace platforms.

India Is Building a Wider Space Surveillance Architecture

MOSAIC arrives as India increases investment in national space situational awareness.

ISRO already operates the Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis, or NETRA, programme, which brings together radars, telescopes, data-processing infrastructure and other sensors for tracking orbital objects and supporting collision avoidance.

Private companies such as Digantara add another layer to this capability.

The emergence of commercially developed surveillance systems allows India to combine government infrastructure with rapidly scalable private technologies, similar to changes occurring in the United States and other major space powers.

Government and private systems can serve different requirements while also providing overlapping observations that increase overall resilience.

Private Space Companies Are Entering Strategic Domains

India’s private space reforms initially attracted considerable attention because of new companies developing launch vehicles, satellites and Earth-observation services.

A second stage is now emerging in which private companies are entering strategically sensitive sectors such as space intelligence, surveillance, orbital tracking, propulsion and in-space servicing.

Digantara sits directly within this transition.

The company is building sensors, orbital datasets and analytics intended not merely for commercial satellite operators but also for defence and national-security users.

This represents an important evolution in India’s space industrial base because future military space capabilities will depend increasingly on commercial technologies developed outside traditional government laboratories.

Space Is Becoming a Contested Operational Domain

The strategic importance of MOSAIC is ultimately linked to the changing character of space itself.

Satellites were once treated primarily as supporting infrastructure operating far from conventional conflict. Today, they are deeply integrated into military command networks.

Modern armed forces depend on spacecraft for reconnaissance, communications, missile warning, navigation and targeting.

Spacecraft can also manoeuvre, inspect one another, conduct proximity operations and potentially interfere with other orbital systems.

As these capabilities expand, simply possessing satellites becomes insufficient. Nations also need the ability to continuously understand what is happening around them.

This is the environment in which space-domain awareness has become a central military capability.

Building India’s Own Orbital Picture

MOSAIC’s most significant contribution lies in the possibility of creating a larger body of independently generated Indian orbital surveillance data.

A sovereign orbital picture requires sensors capable of observing the environment directly, processing those measurements and combining them into accurate tracks without depending entirely on information provided by another country.

Foreign and commercial datasets will continue to remain valuable because global orbital awareness benefits from observations collected across many geographic regions.

Indigenous sensors, however, provide control over tasking priorities, data availability and operational response.

For national-security applications, that distinction can be decisive.

From Seeing Objects to Understanding Behaviour

The future of space surveillance is moving beyond cataloguing spacecraft towards analysing behaviour.

A satellite that changes altitude unexpectedly, approaches another spacecraft or alters its orbital plane may be conducting entirely routine operations. It may also represent a development of strategic interest.

Identifying such changes requires a baseline of frequent observations.

The more accurately a system understands normal behaviour, the easier it becomes to detect anomalies.

Digantara’s broader intelligence architecture seeks to convert tracking data into precisely this type of analysis, moving from raw observations towards predictive space-domain awareness.

MOSAIC provides another source of observations required for that process.

An Indigenous Set of Eyes on an Increasingly Crowded Orbit

Digantara’s MOSAIC programme represents an important development in India’s transition from being primarily a user of orbital-tracking information towards becoming a producer of increasingly sophisticated space-domain intelligence.

The architecture combines distributed optical sensors, autonomous operation, edge computing and AI-based object detection to search broad sections of the sky and track multiple resident space objects simultaneously. Its initial five-node deployment is intended to demonstrate how smaller coordinated sensors can provide persistent surveillance without depending solely on a handful of large fixed installations.

Its relevance extends across satellite safety, orbital-debris monitoring and commercial space operations, but the strategic dimension is equally significant.

As satellites become increasingly central to reconnaissance, communications, navigation and military operations, knowing what is moving through orbit has become an essential part of national situational awareness.

India already possesses substantial capabilities in launch vehicles, remote sensing, navigation and communications satellites. Systems such as MOSAIC address another requirement that is becoming equally important: the ability to independently detect, track and understand the objects operating above the country.

In an orbital environment becoming more crowded, competitive and strategically consequential, Digantara’s indigenous surveillance architecture represents another step towards giving India its own persistent eyes on space.

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