The Netra Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will be deployed in the northeastern region of the country. The range of this radar is 2500 km. Will be till As part of NETRA, an optical telescope will be installed on Mount Saraswati in Ladakh. This radar is 2500 km. Can track objects up to 10 cm away. By focusing its waves at the place of deployment of the radar, the range can be increased to 4000 km. can be extended to.
This Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Center was formally inaugurated by Dr. K Sivan, Chief of ISRO on December 14, 2020. Its objective was to provide state-of-the-art facilities for SSA activities in India at par with international agencies. The government has given green signal for the deployment of radar, which is 10 cm. and will be able to detect and track objects of larger size. The dedicated control center for the SSA is being worked on under the NETRA project, called the Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis. Space is getting crowded with many old satellites, debris etc which is why the NETRA project was started.
What is Eye Project?
The NETRA project, launched in August 2020, is an early warning system to protect satellites from space debris and other space hazards. This project will also give India some capabilities for space situation awareness like many other space powers. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 400 crore. ISRO is building up its orbital debris tracking capability by deploying new radar and optical telescopes under the Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project. Under NETRA, ISRO plans to set up connected radars, telescopes, data processing units and a control centre.
Why is the Netra Project Important?
This project will alert the agencies operating the satellite program about the fragments of debris in space. It is very important to know the location of any debris in space at the time of launch of a new satellite. 10 cm from it. Objects as small as 3,400 km. to the extent of and about 2,000 km. of space can be discovered in orbit. Debris colliding with any satellite will cause immediate damage because colliding with even centimeter-sized pieces can be fatal to satellites. This will not affect the services running on the satellites.
How will the eye system work?
NETRA Space Situational Awareness will monitor LEO satellites in low earth orbit that have remote sensing aircraft. It has been installed at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) campus at Peenya, Bengaluru. This control center will act as the hub of all Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan activities within India. Here orbit determination and catalog building for space objects will take place. Some laboratories will also be set up to destroy space debris. The establishment of the SSA Control Center is an important milestone towards enhancing the capabilities of ISRO, paving the way for India to become 'self-reliant'.