Latest news with #SpaceSituationalAwareness
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Eyes beyond the skies: How IIIT-Delhi and ISRO are training AI to watch over space debris, rogue satellites
In the fast-crowding highways of space, where satellites whiz past one another and junk from decades of missions hurtles unpredictably, one wrong move could set off chaos. Keeping tabs on this orbital traffic jam is no longer optional—it's essential. And a team of engineers and AI specialists at IIIT-Delhi is building a system to do just that, with minimal human intervention. Partnering with ISRO and industry players under the AI for Space Initiative , the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi is crafting an AI-powered Space Situational Awareness (SSA) platform that doesn't just track what's up there—it learns from it, predicts dangers faster, and adapts in real time. 'Human-in-the-loop SSA systems face several significant limitations. They must process vast amounts of data collected from thousands of active satellites, space debris and defunct rocket bodies,' said Sanat K Biswas, assistant professor (ECE) at IIIT-Delhi. Live Events That volume of data is beyond what most human analysts can efficiently process. As a result, crucial patterns go unnoticed, decision-making slows down, and inconsistent risk assessments emerge due to varied inputs and algorithms. Beyond data overload, coordination between global satellite operators is another problem. With no universal standards, efforts to prevent collisions are hampered by communication gaps and unclear points of contact. 'The lack of standardised protocols among satellite operators complicates coordination for collision avoidance. Language barriers and difficulties in locating relevant contacts for operational coordination further limit necessary actions,' Biswas added. The rise of agentic AI The AI system being developed at IIIT-Delhi aims to cut through this mess. Current AI applications in SSA are narrow—object detection or isolated tracking. But what the team is building is more ambitious: AI that can automate entire pipelines—from sensor management to threat detection—much like air traffic control, but for space. 'Currently, AI algorithms are used mainly for specific support tasks like detecting objects. In the near future, AI is expected to take on more complex roles such as managing sensors, automating data processing and detecting threats... To bring all these functions together, we can develop agentic AI —where multiple AI agents handle different tasks while a human oversees their work,' said Biswas. This vision fits squarely into the larger mandate of the Infosys Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAI) at IIIT-Delhi, launched in 2016 to explore cutting-edge AI in fields ranging from autonomous mobility to satellite navigation. SSA, for them, is not just about national security or communication infrastructure—it's a new frontier where AI can prove its worth in high-stakes environments. Closing India's space collaboration gap Yet the road ahead isn't only technical. It's institutional. According to Biswas, India's space innovation ecosystem still struggles with fragmented collaboration, especially between academia and state agencies. 'Unfortunately, there are very few examples of these collaboration pathways in India, and the capabilities of academic institutions are often underutilised in the space sector,' he said. He lays out a blueprint for bridging this divide: either let academic institutions build technologies up to a certain stage before handing them off to industry, or let ISRO define the research need, which universities then solve and industry converts into deployable products. 'If we aspire to become a technological leader in AI applications for space or in space technology more broadly, we must recognise that space research is resource-intensive and that immediate results are not always guaranteed,' Biswas cautioned. 'To foster productive collaboration, ISRO and Indian space industries should support academic institutions and universities... with focused, sustained long-term funding.'
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Isro saved satellites from potential collision 10 times in 2024
Photo/Agencies NEW DELHI: Isro successfully performed 10 Collision Avoidance Manoeuvres (CAMs) in 2024 to protect its satellites from potential collision with other objects in space, according to the newly released Indian Space Situational Assessment Report (ISSAR) for 2024. The space agency performs Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities to protect national space assets from space environmental hazards, such as resident space objects, including space debris, natural objects like asteroids and meteoroids, energy and particle flux. Last year, 89 manoeuvre plans were revised to avoid post-manoeuvre close approaches with other space objects for low earth orbit (LEO) satellites. On two occasions, manoeuvre plans had to be revised to avoid post-manoeuvre conjunctions for Geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites, it said. Overall, Isro has carried out 122 CAMs for its earth-orbiting satellites in the last 14 years. The agency said more than 53,000 alerts issued by Combined Space Operations Center of US Space Command for Isro's earth-orbiting satellites were analysed using more accurate orbital data from flight dynamics. Data shows that between 2010 and 2024, 122 CAMs were conducted and a maximum 23 were carried out between 2022 and 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, there were 10 CAMs. 'The number of CAMs was less in 2024 compared to the previous year. This is because improved close approach analysis methodology with larger conjunction screening volume and usage of more accurate ephemerides helped to meet collision avoidance requirements by adjusting orbit maintenance manoeuvres on several occasions and avoiding exclusive CAMs,' Isro explained. About the return of satellites once they complete their mission, Isro said a total of 31 Indian satellites had re-entered the atmosphere till the end of 2024. In 2024 alone, nine Indian satellites did so. Among them was Cartosat-2, which re-entered the atmosphere on Feb 14, 2024, being Isro's first-ever LEO to be deorbited at end-of-life to reduce its post-mission orbital life from more than 30 years to less than four years. A total of 136 Indian spacecraft, including those from private operators and academic institutions, were launched in Earth-orbit till Dec 31, 2024. The number of operational satellites owned by India stood at 22 in lower earth orbit (LEO) and 31 in geo-synchronous earth orbit (GEO) by 2024 end. In addition, two Indian deep space missions, Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and Aditya-L1 at Sun-Earth Lagrange's point, were active. Isro said 34 rocket bodies re-entered the Earth's atmosphere till 2024 end, and five of such re-entries took place in 2024.
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
ARIES, DRDO lab sign MoU to boost India's space situational awareness
Dehradun: In a significant step toward enhancing India's capabilities in space surveillance, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, and the Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, which is a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at IRDE's facility in Dehradun. The collaboration marks a significant step in India's efforts to enhance its space monitoring capabilities, aligning scientific research with national security objectives. The MoU was signed by Dr Manish Kumar Naja, director of ARIES, and D Ajay Kumar, director of IRDE, in the presence of Dr Brijesh Kumar and Dr TS Kumar from ARIES, and Ruma Dhaka, Dr Sudhir Khare, Dr Manavendra Singh, Abhijit Chakraborty, and Bharat Ram Meena from IRDE on Tuesday. The collaboration unites ARIES, a leading astronomy and astrophysics research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), with IRDE, a DRDO laboratory specialising in electro-optical surveillance systems. The MoU signed on Tuesday aims to leverage ARIES' advanced observational facilities, including the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope and ST Radar system, alongside IRDE's expertise in developing surveillance technologies for ground, naval, airborne, and space platforms. The partnership will focus on strengthening ground-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) through several key initiatives, like utilising ARIES' observational facilities for monitoring and acquiring data on space objects. This strategic alliance between two premier Uttarakhand-based institutions is expected to foster innovation in space surveillance and ground-based astronomy. ARIES is a premier research institute in the field of astronomy, astrophysics and atmospheric sciences and hosts state-of-the-art national observing facilities including the 3.6 m Devasthal Optical Telescope and ST Radar system. IRDE is a leading institution engaged in the design and development of Electro-Optical surveillance systems for the Armed Forces across ground, naval, airborne, and space platforms.
