[3] The creation of the Defence Space Agency (DSA), the Defence Cyber Agency (DCA), and the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Combined Commanders' Conference at Jodhpur Air Force Station on 28 September 2018.

[3] Months before the operationalisation of the Defence Space Agency, India conducted an Anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) test in March 2019.

[12] The Indian ASAT programme can be traced back to its BMD program, which began in 1999 in response to threats posed by the Ballistic missiles of Pakistan and China.

[14][15] On 18 March 2008, DRDO Chief V. K. Saraswat had hinted that India possessed technology required for an ASAT missile, reiterating it in February 2010.

[17] In April 2012, Saraswat again said that India possessed the critical technologies for an ASAT weapon from radars and interceptors developed for Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme.

[19] It was reported in late 2023 that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed to rename itself as the Indian Air and Space Force (IASF) with an enhanced focus on space-based capabilities India also plans to have over 100 small and large military satellites within 7 to 8 years with the DSA to expand into a full-fledged Space Command.

[20] After the approval of 52 surveillance and communication satellites for the Indian Armed Forces, the Department of Military Affairs gave a detailed presentation to the senior members of the Ministry of Defence and key stakeholders from ISRO and DRDO in December 2024.

[24] The Space Based Surveillance is a series of projects taken up by the Government of India to launch a constellation of satellites for earth observation roles.

[26] On 12 October 2024, India's Cabinet Committee on Security approved a proposal for the development, construction and launch of a constellation of 52 spy satellites as a part of the Space Based Surveillance Phase-III project intended to enhance the country's surveillance capabilities from space in both land and sea domains.

The constellation will also enhance the SATCOM capabilities of long range UAVs of the Armed Forces like the MQ-9B Predator drones that are on order.

The SBS system will provide round-the-clock monitoring, irrespective of weather, time of day or atmospheric conditions and may have secondary civilian applications as well.

Under the same project, few experiments would be conducted for an integrated LEO and MEO satellite-based communication system which is a requirement for the Air Force and the Navy.