Demand for military space in India is rising: Professor Nagappa

South Block, which houses the ministry of defence, is preparing the ground for setting up a space command to enhance India's military capabilities through utilisation of space-based assets. It is commonly believed that the outer space exploration, supported by satellites orbiting the earth, has become an important part of several services including weather, communication, internet, banking, navigation, and most importantly, surveillance.

With an estimated 19,000 floating objects as of today in space, Professor Rajaram Nagappa, who served as associate director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO, believes that the demand for military space in India is expected to rise.

While delivering a lecture on the 'Technological Dimensions of India's Security and international relations', Nagappa said that the international space scenario is undergoing major changes with larger number of countries delivering benefits from space.

"In 2016, the government expenditure the world over on space programmes totalled 62.2 billion dollars and there were 70 countries with government space expenditure exceeding one million dollars. This is expected to rise to include 81 countries in the next decade. Approximately 45-50 per cent of the expenditure of leading players was related to military space," Nagappa said, while adding that besides government space agencies, there has been a marked rise in private players entering the space business. "It is now realised that one need not depend upon large satellites. Small satellites can provide practical and useful inputs."

Nagappa received the Prof. ML Sondhi Prize for International Politics 2017 on behalf of the International Strategic and Security Studies (ISSSP), Bengaluru, of which he is the director. Others present were trustees Madhuri Santanam Sondhi, Vivekananda L. Sondhi and Lalit Man Singh, and scientist Dr V. Siddhartha.

Academic, diplomat and parliamentarian, Sondhi’s interest and contributions towards the nuclearisation debate were recalled as well as his commitment to a regional and global peace order. Sondhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from 1967 to 1970 on a Bharatiya Jan Sangh ticket from New Delhi.

In his address, Nagappa stressed on the difficulties in curbing the proliferation of ballistic missiles in nuclear weapons states, and problems created by overcrowding in space.

Technological innovations in the weapons and defence field are occurring at a frenetic pace, though enhancing certain aspects of national security create legal and regulatory problems for the international community.

Nagappa added that in terms of international relations engagement, India has space related MoUs with more than 30 countries and four multinational bodies.

"Security of space assets and space operations in this environment will be testing. An idea of global space traffic management is being talked about and to find common ground will be the challenge for the countries involved," he said.

Nagappa also touched on the dangers of new methods of artificial intelligence, surveillance and attack. Today, it is accepted that cyber threats are unavoidable and systems vulnerable, and so the stress has to be on resilience and recovery, he said.