diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.spec.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.spec.ts
index 0b11958..c1c9986 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.spec.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,21 @@
-import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach } from "vitest";
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import { HttpException, HttpStatus } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { HealthController } from "./health.controller";
 import { HealthService } from "./health.service";
+import { ValkeyService } from "../../valkey/valkey.service";
+
+// Mock ValkeyService
+const mockValkeyService = {
+  ping: vi.fn(),
+} as unknown as ValkeyService;
 
 describe("HealthController", () => {
   let controller: HealthController;
   let service: HealthService;
 
   beforeEach(() => {
-    service = new HealthService();
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    service = new HealthService(mockValkeyService);
     controller = new HealthController(service);
   });
 
@@ -83,17 +91,46 @@ describe("HealthController", () => {
   });
 
   describe("GET /health/ready", () => {
-    it("should return ready status", () => {
-      const result = controller.ready();
+    it("should return ready status with checks when all dependencies are healthy", async () => {
+      vi.mocked(mockValkeyService.ping).mockResolvedValue(true);
+
+      const result = await controller.ready();
 
       expect(result).toBeDefined();
       expect(result).toHaveProperty("ready");
+      expect(result).toHaveProperty("checks");
+      expect(result.ready).toBe(true);
+      expect(result.checks.valkey).toBe(true);
     });
 
-    it("should return ready as true", () => {
-      const result = controller.ready();
+    it("should throw 503 when Valkey is unhealthy", async () => {
+      vi.mocked(mockValkeyService.ping).mockResolvedValue(false);
 
-      expect(result.ready).toBe(true);
+      await expect(controller.ready()).rejects.toThrow(HttpException);
+
+      try {
+        await controller.ready();
+      } catch (error) {
+        expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(HttpException);
+        expect((error as HttpException).getStatus()).toBe(HttpStatus.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE);
+        const response = (error as HttpException).getResponse() as { ready: boolean };
+        expect(response.ready).toBe(false);
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should return checks object with individual dependency status", async () => {
+      vi.mocked(mockValkeyService.ping).mockResolvedValue(true);
+
+      const result = await controller.ready();
+
+      expect(result.checks).toBeDefined();
+      expect(typeof result.checks.valkey).toBe("boolean");
+    });
+
+    it("should handle Valkey ping errors gracefully", async () => {
+      vi.mocked(mockValkeyService.ping).mockRejectedValue(new Error("Connection refused"));
+
+      await expect(controller.ready()).rejects.toThrow(HttpException);
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.ts
index a0e0de6..c7e7fa5 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.controller.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-import { Controller, Get, UseGuards } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { Controller, Get, UseGuards, HttpStatus, HttpException } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { Throttle } from "@nestjs/throttler";
-import { HealthService } from "./health.service";
+import { HealthService, ReadinessResult } from "./health.service";
 import { OrchestratorThrottlerGuard } from "../../common/guards/throttler.guard";
 
 /**
@@ -26,8 +26,13 @@ export class HealthController {
 
   @Get("ready")
   @Throttle({ status: { limit: 200, ttl: 60000 } })
-  ready(): { ready: boolean } {
-    // NOTE: Check Valkey connection, Docker daemon (see issue #TBD)
-    return { ready: true };
+  async ready(): Promise<ReadinessResult> {
+    const result = await this.healthService.isReady();
+
+    if (!result.ready) {
+      throw new HttpException(result, HttpStatus.SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE);
+    }
+
+    return result;
   }
 }
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.module.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.module.ts
index bf94834..307b3bc 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.module.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.module.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import { Module } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { HealthController } from "./health.controller";
 import { HealthService } from "./health.service";
+import { ValkeyModule } from "../../valkey/valkey.module";
 
 @Module({
+  imports: [ValkeyModule],
   controllers: [HealthController],
   providers: [HealthService],
 })
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.service.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.service.ts
index 75c27e7..d05887a 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.service.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/api/health/health.service.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,56 @@
-import { Injectable } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { Injectable, Logger } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { ValkeyService } from "../../valkey/valkey.service";
+
+export interface ReadinessResult {
+  ready: boolean;
+  checks: {
+    valkey: boolean;
+  };
+}
 
 @Injectable()
 export class HealthService {
   private readonly startTime: number;
+  private readonly logger = new Logger(HealthService.name);
 
-  constructor() {
+  constructor(private readonly valkeyService: ValkeyService) {
     this.startTime = Date.now();
   }
 
   getUptime(): number {
     return Math.floor((Date.now() - this.startTime) / 1000);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Check if the service is ready to accept requests
+   * Validates connectivity to required dependencies
+   */
+  async isReady(): Promise<ReadinessResult> {
+    const valkeyReady = await this.checkValkey();
+
+    const ready = valkeyReady;
+
+    if (!ready) {
+      this.logger.warn(`Readiness check failed: valkey=${String(valkeyReady)}`);
+    }
+
+    return {
+      ready,
+      checks: {
+        valkey: valkeyReady,
+      },
+    };
+  }
+
+  private async checkValkey(): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      return await this.valkeyService.ping();
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.logger.error(
+        "Valkey health check failed",
+        error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)
+      );
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.client.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.client.ts
index b0fbe68..c16786b 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.client.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.client.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,19 @@ export class ValkeyClient {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Check Valkey connectivity
+   * @returns true if connection is healthy, false otherwise
+   */
+  async ping(): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      await this.client.ping();
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Task State Management
    */
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.service.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.service.ts
index 45fdfa8..2c2dee2 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.service.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/valkey/valkey.service.ts
@@ -152,4 +152,12 @@ export class ValkeyService implements OnModuleDestroy {
     };
     await this.setAgentState(state);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Check Valkey connectivity
+   * @returns true if connection is healthy, false otherwise
+   */
+  async ping(): Promise<boolean> {
+    return this.client.ping();
+  }
 }