Watch snippets from India’s private SCOT satellite launch

Anirudh Sharma, Tanveer Ahmed and Rahul Rawat are only 26. But their space-tech start-up, Digantara, recently launched the world’s first commercial space-based space surveillance satellite. It’s called the Space Camera for Object Tracking, or SCOT. The 25-kg contraption – slightly larger than a shoebox – will essentially scan the skies and map debris as small as 5 cm, floating in Low-Earth Orbit. The company will then provide these maps and data, for a fee, to clients from among the growing number of government agencies and private companies operating satellites, labs, research vessels and potentially tourist operations off-planet. Their SCOT left Earth aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 in January. It is currently in orbit and relayed its first images on March 8. Take a look at the highlights from inside the Digantara lab, and from the nail-biting launch day, compiled by the company for a behind-the-scenes perspective. Watch for more.