ISRO has announced a new research facility to study the atmosphere, the ionosphere and space weather using advanced radar. The announcement came on October 1.

The ISTRAC Advanced Radar Research Facility, or IARRF, will be a multidisciplinary platform for next-generation radar technologies. It will support experiments, radar development and validation of scientific models.

The research will feed into better weather prediction, space-weather assessment, and communication and navigation studies. It will also help with flash-flood warnings, thunderstorm nowcasting and aviation safety.

The foundation stone was laid on September 21 at Chandrapur in Assam by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, with ISRO chairman V. Narayanan present. The facility is part of Project NETRA, which tracks satellites and space debris.

The site covers about 67 acres. The first radar, meant for cloud research, is expected by February 2027. ISRO says the facility will be open to students, universities, startups and industry.

The Chandrapur site in Assam’s Kamrup (M) district is about 11 km from Guwahati. Officials say the radar data will be shared with scientific institutions, helping India’s space-weather forecasting keep pace with global needs.