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Most of the space technology institutes are confined to south of India. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), which is Asia's first university solely dedicated to the study and research of Outer space, is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
In a better now, north India’s first big space centre and the India’s second-of-its-kind space training institute after IIST of Thiruvananthapuram was inaugurated in Jammu, last Saturday.
The centre named "Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences" was just inaugurated by space minister Jitendra Singh, on the premises of the Central University of Jammu. Notably, Satish Dhawan who led the successful and indigenous development of the Indian space programme, was born in Srinagar, Jammu. The newly launched space centre is a befitting tribute to him -- said Minister Jitendra Singh.
The upcoming space institute is being set up jointly by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central University of Jammu. An MoU has also been signed between the two.
From this year onwards, 60 students will be taken in the course of BTech in "Aviation & Aeronautics" and the selection criteria for same will be through IIT-JEE .
The minister also said that “after studying aviation and aeronautics from here the students will be able to find a career in space technology not only in India but in institutes like NASA.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also said that the institute will open up new vistas in the region for academicians, industrialists and start-ups in the space domain.
The Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences could be considered for the extension activities of ISRO relevant to Jammu region, managed and maintained by Central University of Jammu. The prime activities to be done at the centre would be -- Research and Development related to space science, space-based disaster management, technologies for the development of the region etc.The Centre houses different labs/ facilities related to geospatial data analysis, materials, astrophysics, natural disasters and avionics.