2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: ISRO, NORAD

ISRO’s Project ‘Netra’

For: Preliminary & Mains

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About Project ‘Netra’

News Flash

The Centre has proposed Rs 33.3 crore for ISRO’s ‘Project Netra’ for securing Indian satellites from space debris and other dangers.

In Sep, India launched the early warning system Netra (Network for Space Objects, Tracking, and Analysis) to secure its satellites and other assets in space.

Threat

Human space exploration has led to the creation of junk around Earth’s orbit, posing serious traffic risks to man-made satellites.
India has 15 communication satellites active in the geostationary orbit, 13 remote-sensing satellites active in low-earth orbit (2,000 km radius) and eight navigation satellites in medium-earth orbit.
About 17,000 man-made objects are monitored in space of which 7 percent are active objects. After a time, these objects become inactive and collide with each other while revolving in space.
Growing incidents of objects colliding in space pose a threat to other satellites. There are small pieces of debris rotate at extremely fast speeds. Dead satellites and other debris present in space exist in the Earth’s orbit for many years and these debris can damage any active satellite.

Space Debris

It could be floating particles from dead satellites or rocket parts that stay in orbit for many years.

ISRO-Project-NETRA

Project Netra

The Indian Space Research Organization initiated ‘Project Netra’ – an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.
The project gives India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers which is used to predict threats from debris to Indian Satellites.
NETRA’s eventual goal is to capture the geostationary orbit (GEO), scene at 36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
The NETRA effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning about and mitigating space debris.
With this the ISRO, which has placed satellites to track the earth from above, will also start training its eyes on space from earth.

Background

Before NETRA, ISRO depends on the data from North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and others available in the public domain but this information is not accurate. NORAD is an initiative of the U.S. and Canada that shares selective debris data with many countries.

NORAD

North American Aerospace Defense Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Northern America.

Source: ET