ISRO centre to protect high-value space assets

The Indian space agency has said the foundation stone for a centre to monitor and protect high value space assets from space debris has been laid. K. Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), laid the foundation stone for the Space Situational Awareness Control Centre in Peenya, Bengaluru.

“Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft,” ISRO said. “ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. To carry out systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru,” ISRO said.

The control centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, considering the increasing debris and operational space assets. The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions.