ARIES and BEL sign memorandum of understanding to enhance space situational awareness to ensure satellite safety

New Delhi (India), September 21 (ANI): Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navaratna-based defence public sector company, to collaborate in developing space situational awareness (SSA) technology.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, the partnership aims to improve the tracking of space objects, including near-Earth objects and artificial satellites, ensuring the safety of satellites and their users.

The agreement signed at BEL’s Ghaziabad office is a step forward in developing India’s technological capabilities in space surveillance and is in line with the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make-in-India’ initiatives.

The cooperation will focus on predicting and preventing potential collisions between space objects, thereby protecting critical space infrastructure.

Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is essential to predict, warn and prevent potential collisions between space objects. Under the terms of the MoU, ARIES and BEL will use data from ARIES’ advanced telescopes, including the 4-meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT), to support this effort.

The two organizations will collaborate on developing image processing techniques and data analysis software. They will also work together on creating new instruments and laboratories. Various training workshops will be organized to enhance SSA skills. ARIES will also contribute its expertise in space weather.

The MoU was signed at BEL’s Ghaziabad branch by Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, Director, ARIES, and Rashmi Kathuria, Branch Manager, GM (SCCS), in the presence of Dr. Brijesh Kumar, Dr. TS Kumar and Dr. S. Krishna Prasad, ARIES, and senior BEL officers Bhanu Prakash Srivastava, Director (OU), Anoop Kumar Rai, CS (CRL-GAD) and Puneet Jain, AGM (Marketing). (ANI)