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NEWS IMPULSE – NETWORK FOR SPACE OBJECT TRACKING AND ANALYSIS (NETRA) | 19 DECEMBER

/ UPSC Daily Current Affairs, December

Syllabus Section: Science and Technology

 

Why in news?

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has established the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre NETRA at Bangalore. It is a dedicated Control Centre that will help in monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets. SSA is an integral and indispensable part of the safe and sustainable space operations

 

About NETRA Space situational awareness centre

  • NETRA stands for NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis. NETRA comprises of the components like radar, an optical telescope facility, and a control centre.
  • The control centre coordinates between Indian agencies, their foreign counterparts and international bodies.
  • It has been established by the Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management (DSSAM).
  • SSA is the science to track the man-made as well as natural objects moving in the orbit.
  • Similar control system has also been set by America, Russia and Europe to track the space objects and share collision warnings.

 

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

ISRO or Indian Space Research Organisation is India’s space agency founded in 1969 to help develop an indigenous Indian space program. The head quarters of ISRO are located in Bengaluru. It is one of the 6 largest space agencies in the world today.

  • ISRO maintains one of the biggest fleets of remote sensing (IRS) and communication (INSAT) satellites catering to the needs of the nation through a network of centres, offices, and research institutes in different parts of the country. 
  • ISRO has many facilities each dedicated to a specialised field of study in space. A few of them are as follows:
  1. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram
  2. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Thiruvananthapuram
  3. Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota
  4. Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmadabad
  5. National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad

ISRO Vision & Objectives

  • Vision: ISRO’s vision is stated as “Harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.”
  •  Mission:
  1. Design and development of launch vehicles and related technologies for providing access to space.
  2. Design and development of satellites and related technologies for earth observation, communication, navigation, meteorology and space science.
  3. Indian National Satellite (INSAT) programme for meeting telecommunication, television broadcasting and developmental applications.
  4. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) programme for management of natural resources and monitoring of environment using space-based imagery.
  5. Space-based Applications for Societal development.
  6. Research and Development in space science and planetary exploration.

Source: PIB