Flying high: Bengaluru-based Istrac marks 50 years of backing India's space missions

BENGALURU: The Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru began its Golden Jubilee celebrations on Sept 10, marking 50 years of supporting India's space efforts. Established on Sept 6, 1976, Istrac provides ground segment support for Earth observation, space science, interplanetary missions and launch vehicles. It played a key role in missions such as Aryabhata, Chandrayaan, Mars Orbiter Mission and will do the same for the upcoming Gaganyaan missions. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Istrac operates a network of ground stations across India and abroad. It manages deep space tracking, space situational awareness, and mission operations, contributing to the success of space missions.The celebrations were inaugurated by Isro chairman V Narayanan, who lauded Istrac's role as the "silent backbone" of every mission, highlighting its dedication, innovation, and resilience. He noted its contributions to complex missions to Moon, Mars and even the SpaDeX docking experiment, and the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (Nisar) mission, as well as tracking support for NewSpace India Limited's (Nsil) commercial ventures.A coffee table book highlighting Istrac's accomplishments was released, along with the Golden Jubilee logo. Narayanan also unveiled Istrac's new website, "Spandan".