ISRO sets up dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness

Bengaluru:  A dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities in the country, aimed at monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets, has been set up here,the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Wednesday.
“ISRO SSA Control Centre, ‘NETRA’, is set up within the ISTRAC campus at Peenya.
The control centre is envisaged to function as a hub of all SSA activities within India,” the space agency said.
The Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM) engages in evolving improved operational mechanisms to protect Indian space assets through effective coordination amongst ISRO/DOS Centres, other space agencies and international bodies, it said.
According to ISRO, the Network for space object Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project is initiated as a first step towards meeting this goal, its main elements being a radar, an optical telescope facility, and a control centre.
The control centre was formally inaugurated by Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space K Sivan on December 14.