Description

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Context:

‘Antariksha Abhyas – 2024’, a three-day Exercise to war-game the growing threats from and to Space Based Assets and Services, is being conducted by the Defence Space Agency of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff from 11 - 13 November 24.

Details:

Type	India’s first space-focused military exercise.
Aim	To strengthen India’s defense capabilities in space and secure national strategic objectives. To assess the dependence on space-based services and assets in military operations. Identifying vulnerabilities in space assets, especially if space-based services are denied or disrupted.
Collaborating Organizations	Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
Key Outcomes Expected	Enhanced coordination among defense, intelligence, and space research entities. Improved operational preparedness for space threats. Foundation for future innovation in space defense technologies.

Indian Space Research Organisation is India's national space agency. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS.

It is responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies.

The agency maintains a constellation of imaging, communication and remote sensing satellites. It operates the GAGAN and IRNSS satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one mission to Mars.

The Defence Space Agency (DSA) is an integrated tri-services agency of the Indian Armed Forces headquartered in Bengaluru. The agency is tasked with operating the space-warfare and Satellite Intelligence assets of India. The DSA draws personnel from all three branches of the Armed Forces. The agency is expected to be converted into a full sized tri-service military command in the future.

The creation of the DSA, the Defence Cyber Agency, and the Armed Forces Special Operations Division was approved by Prime Minister Modi during the Combined Commanders' Conference at Jodhpur Air Force Station on 28 September 2018. The Defence Imagery Processing and Analysis Centre in Delhi and the Defence Satellite Control Centre in Bhopal were subsumed by the DSA.

READ ABOUT ISRO AND DRDO

DRDO UPSC

ISRO Missions

Source:

PIB

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.Which of the following statements are correct regarding the 'Antariksha Abhyas – 2024' exercise?

It is India's first space-focused military exercise, conducted by the Defence Space Agency.
The exercise aims to strengthen India's defense capabilities in space and focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in space assets.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: c

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Exercise Antariksha Abhyas is a first of its kind exercise being conducted and is expected to help secure national strategic objectives in space and integrate India’s space capability in military operations.

Statement 2 is correct: The Space Exercise aims to provide enhanced understanding of space based assets and services and to gain understanding of operational dependency on space segment between stakeholders. In addition, it intends to identify vulnerabilities in conduct of operations in the event of denial or disruptions of space based services.