What is SCOT Mission?

About SCOT Mission:

• SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking) is Digantara’s (an Indian space startup)inaugural mission dedicated to space surveillance.
• It is one of the world's first commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites.
• It was launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission.
• SCOT is built to track Resident Space Objects (RSOs). 
• It is purpose-built to monitor smaller RSOs, deliver higher revisit rates, and provide better tracking accuracy—filling a gap left by current systems.
• SCOT will be deployed in a sun-synchronous orbit, allowing it to track objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with more efficiency than existing sensors, which are restricted by fields of view (FoV), weather conditions, and geographic limitations.
• Unlike these traditional systems, SCOT will ensure surveillance of objects as small as 5 cm orbiting the Earth to ensure safer space operations.
• Backed by Aditya Birla Ventures and SIDBI, it aims to support national security and space operations.

Points to Remember:

• Alongside Digantara, two other Indian space startups have provided their satellites on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rocket that lifted off from Vandenberg, California, US.
• Bengaluru-based Pixxel deployed the first three satellites of its Firefly constellation, alongside ELEVATION-1, a satellite for US-based Almagest Space Corporation, which was wholly designed and developed by Hyderabad-based XDLINX Spacelabs. 

Q1: What is a space camera?

Optical payloads or cameras on board satellites play a crucial role in Earth observation space missions. These camera systems are equipped with advanced imaging sensors and lenses that enable them to capture detailed images of our planet from space.

Source: PM lauds Indian space startup Digantara at the success of Mission SCOT