The Indian Space Research Organisation laid the foundation stone for the ISTRAC Advanced Radar Research Facility at Chandrapur, Assam, on 21 September 2026. 

• The facility is being established under the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network as part of Project NETRA (Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis).
• The facility is spearheaded by ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, which is responsible for tracking support, telemetry, command and mission operations for ISRO’s satellites and launch vehicles.
  • It also undertakes radar development for launch-vehicle tracking and meteorological applications.
• Project NETRA aims to build an indigenous Space Situational Awareness network using radars, optical telescopes and a central control centre to detect, track, identify and catalogue objects in space. 
• The Chandrapur radar is being developed alongside an optical telescope facility at Hanle, Ladakh, while the central control centre operates from Bengaluru. 
• The facility will help monitor satellites, space debris and other space objects, support orbit determination and collision-risk assessment, provide inputs for collision-avoidance manoeuvres, and assist in predicting atmospheric re-entry of satellites and rocket bodies. 
• Around 200 bighas of land at the former Chandrapur Thermal Power Station site has been allotted by Assam. 
• ISRO’s 2025–26 Annual Report records a 67-acre radar site, with the land transfer executed in November 2023 and final registration completed on 7 November 2025.
• The facility will also support atmospheric and cloud research. 
• A cloud-research radar is expected to be commissioned by February 2027, with further radar systems planned subsequently. 

Space Sustainability

• India’s Space Policy 2023 calls for safe and sustainable space operations, enhancement of national Space Situational Awareness capabilities and compliance with international space-debris mitigation guidelines. 
• Project NETRA is therefore important not only for protecting Indian space assets but also for addressing the growing problem of space debris and collision risks. 
• ISRO’s Debris Free Space Mission initiative aims to achieve debris-free missions by the Indian government and private space actors by 2030. 

One-line Wrap

ISRO is establishing an Advanced Radar Research Facility at Chandrapur, Assam, under Project NETRA, to strengthen space situational awareness by tracking satellites, space debris and other space objects while also supporting atmospheric and cloud research.