Anirudh Sharma is among a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs working on technologies that extend beyond traditional enterprise software. As the founder and CEO of Digantara Research and Technologies, Sharma is building systems designed to monitor activity in Earth’s orbit, an increasingly important layer of global infrastructure as satellite networks continue to expand.

The company’s latest milestone came in early 2025 with the successful launch of SCOT (Space Camera for Object Tracking), marking Digantara’s entry into the growing commercial market for space situational awareness. The development highlights India’s expanding role in private space technology while addressing one of the industry’s most pressing challenges: keeping Earth’s increasingly crowded orbital environment safe.

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Digantara Launches SCOT Satellite

Digantara launched its first satellite, SCOT, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-12 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The mission carried 131 satellites, bringing together payloads from organizations across the world. For Digantara, however, the launch represented far more than another satellite deployment. It marked the beginning of the company’s own space-based observation network dedicated exclusively to monitoring orbital activity.

According to the company, SCOT is among the world’s first commercial satellites designed solely for space situational awareness (SSA), an area becoming increasingly important as satellite launches accelerate worldwide.

Why Space Situational Awareness Matters

Low Earth orbit has become significantly more congested over the past decade. Thousands of operational satellites now share orbital paths with inactive spacecraft, discarded rocket stages, and millions of pieces of space debris.

Even tiny fragments can travel at speeds exceeding 28,000 kilometres per hour, making collisions capable of causing severe damage to satellites that support navigation, communications, weather forecasting, financial services, and national security.

Space situational awareness focuses on continuously detecting, identifying, and tracking these objects. By analysing orbital movements, operators can predict potential collisions and make timely adjustments that protect valuable spacecraft.

While ground-based radar and telescope systems already provide orbital monitoring, they have limitations related to coverage, weather, and observation angles. Digantara developed SCOT to complement these systems by collecting high-frequency tracking data directly from space, improving the accuracy and speed of orbital intelligence.

From Entrepreneur to Space Technology Founder

Sharma’s journey into the space sector did not begin through conventional aerospace education.

He has often described traditional academic structures as limiting for creative problem-solving. While preparing for engineering entrance examinations, he established a small animation studio that reflected his interest in design and technology.

After enrolling at an engineering college in Rajasthan, he devoted much of his attention to creating interactive digital installations rather than following a traditional academic path. His work earned recognition through design competitions, but he eventually left college in 2009.

Soon afterward, Sharma secured an internship with Hewlett Packard’s Imagine Group in Bengaluru, an experience that introduced him to commercial innovation and interdisciplinary product development.

Building Lechal and Gaining Global Recognition

Sharma’s first major entrepreneurial breakthrough came with Lechal, a wearable technology project designed to help visually impaired users navigate through vibration-based guidance embedded inside footwear.

The innovation used haptic feedback to provide directional instructions without relying solely on audio navigation.

Recognising wider commercial opportunities, Sharma and co-founder Krispian Lawrence established Ducere Technologies to develop the product further.

Lechal attracted international attention for combining accessibility with practical consumer technology. In 2012, Sharma received the prestigious MIT Technology Review TR35 Innovator of the Year recognition. During this period, the company expanded rapidly from a small founding team into an organisation employing more than 100 people.

The success of Lechal also opened new academic and research opportunities abroad.

Research at MIT and a Return to India

Following his entrepreneurial achievements, Sharma received an opportunity to pursue a master’s degree at the MIT Media Lab, where he specialised in augmented reality and emerging technologies.

Rather than remaining in the United States after completing his studies in 2015, Sharma chose to return to India with the ambition of building a multidisciplinary research ecosystem.

His research laboratory brought together engineers, designers, scientists, and artists to collaborate on practical technology solutions. Among its notable projects was the development of industrial-grade ink produced from captured air pollution, demonstrating the team’s emphasis on solving complex societal problems through deep technology.

This interdisciplinary approach would later become the foundation for Digantara.

Why Sharma Founded Digantara

As satellite deployments increased globally, Sharma identified a growing gap in commercial access to accurate orbital intelligence.

Government agencies possessed sophisticated tracking capabilities, but private satellite operators often relied on delayed or incomplete information.

Sharma believed specialised commercial infrastructure could provide faster, more precise, and independent tracking services tailored to satellite operators, insurers, and defence organisations.

Digantara was established to develop advanced sensors, orbital analytics, and data-processing capabilities that improve awareness of objects travelling through Earth’s orbit.

The launch of SCOT represents the company’s first operational step toward creating a dedicated satellite constellation capable of delivering continuous orbital monitoring.

Expanding Commercial Space Infrastructure

Digantara plans to deploy additional satellites in the coming years to strengthen global coverage and improve observation accuracy.

Its long-term objective is to provide collision-risk assessment, orbital analytics, and monitoring services for customers managing satellite fleets in an increasingly complex orbital environment.

Demand for such services is expected to rise steadily as governments, commercial operators, and private companies continue investing in satellite communications, Earth observation, navigation, and defence applications.

Protecting these assets has become essential as space infrastructure increasingly supports everyday economic activity on Earth.

A Systems-Based Approach to Innovation

Throughout his career, Sharma has consistently focused on solving large-scale infrastructure challenges rather than building isolated products.

Design consultant Niyam Bhushan, who has mentored Sharma since 2009, has described his approach as one that combines science, engineering, and design to address complex systems rather than individual technologies.

That philosophy connects Sharma’s earlier work in wearable technology with his current focus on orbital monitoring.

Rather than presenting innovation as disruption, Sharma emphasises long-term problem-solving through research-driven engineering.

Space Is Becoming Essential Enterprise Infrastructure

Modern economies depend heavily on satellites for communications, banking, navigation, agriculture, disaster management, weather forecasting, and climate monitoring.

As these orbital assets become increasingly valuable, protecting them has become a strategic priority for governments and commercial operators alike.

Digantara’s work reflects this transformation by providing technologies designed to improve visibility into Earth’s orbital environment. Through its SCOT satellite and planned observation network, the company aims to deliver more accurate tracking data that helps organisations make safer operational decisions.

For Sharma, space is no longer a distant frontier. It has become an essential component of modern enterprise infrastructure. As Digantara expands its capabilities, its success will depend on scaling its observation network, maintaining data accuracy, and earning the confidence of customers operating in one of the world’s fastest-growing technology sectors.

Most Searched FAQs

1. Who is Anirudh Sharma?

Anirudh Sharma is an Indian entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Digantara Research and Technologies, a company focused on space situational awareness and orbital tracking.

2. What is Digantara?

Digantara is an Indian space technology company that develops solutions for tracking satellites and space debris to improve the safety of operations in Earth’s orbit.

3. What is the SCOT satellite?

SCOT, or Space Camera for Object Tracking, is Digantara’s first commercial satellite designed specifically for monitoring objects in space and supporting space situational awareness.

4. Why is space situational awareness important?

Space situational awareness helps detect satellites and orbital debris, predicts potential collisions, and supports safer satellite operations for governments and commercial operators.

5. When was the SCOT satellite launched?

SCOT was launched in early 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket during the Transporter-12 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

6. What services does Digantara provide?

Digantara develops orbital tracking systems, collision-risk analysis, space object monitoring, sensors, and data analytics for satellite operators, insurers, and defence organisations.

7. What are Digantara’s future plans?

The company plans to expand its satellite constellation to improve global orbital coverage, increase tracking precision, and strengthen commercial space situational awareness services.