ISRO's 'Project NETRA' to help detect space hazards to Indian satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has initiated a Rs 400 crore project, called Project NETRA (Network for space object Tracking and Analysis), an early warning system that would help detect space hazards to Indian satellites, the Hindu has reported.

According to the report, the project is expected to give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA), something that other space powers already have. The SSA is used to predict threats from debris to Indian satellites.

Experts have said that SSA also serves as a warning system against missile or a space attack against India.

According to ISRO, India's SSA would be the first for low-earth orbits, or LEO. Under NETRA, the agency plans on putting up a number of observational facilities, including connected radars, telescopes, data processing units and a control centre.

ISRO chairman K Sivan had earlier told the newspaper that the project would help India track space debris, and hence mitigate any unfortunate eventuality.

A high-precision, long-range telescope in Leh and a radar in the North East are also being planned, according to Sivan.

"Along with them, we will also use the Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) that we have put up at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and the telescopes at Ponmudi and Mount Abu to get a broad SSA picture," Sivan said.

"Even now we do collision avoidance manoeuvres on our satellites. To do that, we depend on data from NORAD and others available in the public domain. But, we don’t get accurate (or comprehensive) information," Sivan said, adding that the agency, by establishing an observation system of its own, will become a "part of the global network and can access precise data".

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is an initiative by the US and Canada which helps in sharing selective debris data with many countries. The new SSA centre floated by ISRO would consolidate debris tracking activities, currently spread over ISRO centres across India.

"We should have started this kind of an SSA project a long-time back," Dinesh Kumar Yadvendra, a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre For Joint Warfare Studies, told the newspaper. He added that the SSA would also provide India the capability to have an early warning system against ballistic missiles coming in at a height.

"India, as a responsible space power, should have SSA as a part of a national capability, as in the U.S. This is a vital requirement for protecting our space assets and a force multiplier," S. Chandrashekar, a former ISRO scientist and JRD Tata Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies said.