In the middle of its two-month Chandrayaan-2 campaign, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) last month quietly initiated ‘Project NETRA’ – an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.The project estimated to cost ₹400 crore, when in place, will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites. It also goes so far as to serve as an unstated warning against missile or space attack for the country, experts say.The space agency says our SSA will first be for low-earth orbits or LEO which have remote-sensing spacecraft. Under NETRA, or Network for space object Tracking and Analysis, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre. They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
The ‘NETRA’ in Bengaluru will soon start collaborating with the Combined Space Operation Center (CSpOC) located at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to protect satellites of India and the United States from natural and man-made threats.India and the United States will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Space Situational Awareness by the end of this year, creating a framework for sharing data and services to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, according to a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington D.C.
The ISRO opened its NETRA – Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis – within the ISTRAC campus at Peenya in Bengaluru on December 14 last year.The US Joint Space Operation Command Center (JSpOC) transitioned into the CSpOC – a US-led multinational initiative involving the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and New Zealand. It receives inputs from the Space Surveillance Network and share data with the nations having Space Situational Awareness agreement with the US.
GUWAHATI: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will start a project Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) in Assam. For this, ISRO has requested the Assam Government to provide 100 acres of high land. The Assam Government has identified a plot of land at Chandrapur in Kamrup (metro) district. On Monday, State Science and Technology Minister Keshab Mahanta inspected the proposed site.
ISRO to step up tracking of space debris A space debris tracking radar with a range of 1,500 km and an optical telescope will be inducted as part of establishing an effective surveillance and tracking network under NETRA, ISRO chairman S. Somanath told The Hindu. The government has given the go-ahead for the deployment of the radar, which will be capable of detecting and tracking objects 10 cm and above in size. It will be indigenously designed and built, he said.
Radars and optical telescopes are vital ground-based facilities for keeping an eye on space objects, including orbital junk. ''We plan to have two such radars deployed 1,000 km apart for spatial diversity. At present, we have a Multi Object Tracking Radar at Sriharikota range, but it has a limited range. To protect our space assets, we need to augment our capabilities,'' Mr. Somanath said.
ndia has given a boost to self-reliance in safeguarding its space assets with ISRO System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operation and Management (IS4OM).Union Minister of State for Space Jitendra Singh would inaugurate the IS4OM here on Monday, in the presence of Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation S Somanath.
"It's part of the space situational awareness (SSA) programme to identify space debris and monitor them", an ISRO official told PTI.
ISRO SSA Control Centre, 'NETRA' (NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis), envisaged to function as a hub of all SSA activities within India, was set up within the ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network) campus at Peenya here.
"Control room/ lab with consoles, software, displays which is the operational system, which is realised within the control centre, will be inaugurated on Monday."
Jul 11, 2022Dedication of ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management (IS4OM) to the nationHonorable Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh Ji dedicated ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management (IS4OM) to the nation today in Bengaluru. Chairman, ISRO Shri S. Somanath, Former chairmen Dr. Radhakrishnan, Shri Kiran Kumar and Dr. Sivan graced the occasion. IS4OM is ISRO’s holistic approach to ensure the safety of our space assets and thus, sustains the utilization of outer space for national development. In response to ever-growing space object population and the risk of collisions in space, it undertakes observation and monitoring of space objects and space environment, processing the observations for orbit determination, object characterization and cataloging, analysis of space environment evolution, risk assessment and mitigation, and, data exchange and collaboration. The system safeguards all Indian Space assets by mitigating the collisional threats from space objects through specific orbit maneuvers and complying to international guidelines on post mission disposal and satellite’s end-of-life operations.
