India’s First Commercial SSA Observatory

India’s First Commercial SSA Observatory:

India’s first commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Observatory will be set up in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.

• The observatory will be set up by Digantara, a Bengaluru-based space sector start-up.
• The observatory will be the first-of-its-kind in the region, set up to augment the start-up’s SSA capabilities.
• It will be strategically positioned to serve global space traffic management operations.
• It will assist in tracking any activity in space including that of space debris and military satellites hovering over the region.
• At present, the US is a dominant player in monitoring space debris.
• The observatory will bring value to the nation by serving as an essential data source for advancing knowledge of the realm of space.
• It will be able to supplement its space-based sensors in their mission to monitor satellites and debris in orbits ranging from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO).