ISRO chief inaugurates Space Situational Awareness Control Centre to protect space assets

The Chairman of ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan on December 14 formally inaugurated the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre at Peenya, Bangalore. SSA has become an integral and indispensable part of safe and sustainable space operations. Along with Sivan, other dignitaries present at the inauguration ceremony were Shri. P. Kunhikrishnan, Director, URSC, Shri. R. Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary, and Dr. A. K. Anilkumar, Director, DSSAM.

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SSA Control Centre ‘NETRA’ 

While inaugurating the ISRO SSA Control Centre ‘NETRA’, Sivan reiterated the need for setting up a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to SSA activities on par with international agencies. According to the official press note, the SSA Control Centre is an important milestone in the progress of ISRO. The national space agency has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. 

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The Directorate engages in evolving improved operational mechanisms to protect Indian space assets through effective coordination amongst ISRO/DOS Centres, other space agencies and International bodies and establishment of necessary supporting infrastructures. NETRA or NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis project is initiated as a first step towards meeting this goal. The Control Centre is also envisaged to function as a hub of all SSA activities within India. 

The Control Centre, which is set up within the ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bangalore, will have a provision to schedule and remotely operate the observational facilities from the control centre. The SSA activities will comprise close approach analysis between ISRO’s satellite and launch vehicles, timely dissemination of advance alerts on upcoming critical conjunctions for collision avoidance of operational assets, prediction of atmospheric re-entry of derelict satellites and rocket bodies. Additionally, dedicated labs will also be set up in this control centre for Space Debris mitigation and remediation, compliance verification of UN/IADC guidelines and various R&D activities.  

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