India's First Military Grade Spy Satellite will be Launched by SpaceX

India's first spy satellite built by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) will be launched in a SpaceX rocket by April and will be used by the armed forces to obtain secret information.

About India's first spy satellite

• The ground control centre is expected to be operational soon in Bengaluru. 
• It will be used for guidance and processing of imagery sent by the satellite.
• The report said that this center is being built in partnership with Latin-American company Satélogic.
• Imagery sent by the TASL satellite will also be allowed to be shared with friendly countries.
• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) also has satellites that can help in sharing imagery but their application is only limited given the vast coverage required. India currently uses US companies to obtain necessary spying data.
• Last week, ISRO launched its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS on spacecraft GSLV F14 from Sriharikota spaceport. It will study weather forecasting and natural disaster warnings. Due to its poor track record GSLV has been called the "naughty boy".
• ISRO has also been involved with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop synthetic aperture radar satellites to study the Earth. ISRO chief S Somnath had recently said that it is not a "surveillance satellite".

About Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) is the strategic aerospace and defense arm of Tata Group, functioning as both an operating and holding company.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited is one of the country's leading private players for aerospace and defense solutions and aspires to be the 'Partner of Choice' especially for the Government's 'Make in India' program and for global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). 

About SpaceX

SpaceX is an American space exploration company that designs and manufactures spacecraft, provides launch services, and offers satellite communication services. The company is headquartered in Hawthorne, California and was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk.