A two day national workshop on Design of Antenna and Radar Systems DARS 2009 - was organised by ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at its Mission Operations Complex in Peenya, Bangalore, during February 13-14, 2009.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in association with several organisations like Bharat Electronics, Electronic Corporation of India Limited, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and many private agencies, has been instrumental in the design and development of various types of antenna and radar systems, meeting the needs of aerospace agencies in the country. The recent success of Indias first mission to moon Chandrayaan-1 and the role played by the Indian Deep Space Network with the 32 m antenna of ISTRAC, has generated tremendous enthusiasm among the antenna and radar community in the country. This workshop was an effort to bring together designers, engineers and scientists across ISRO and other organisations in the field to share their experiences, current practices as well as future concepts to build state-of-the-art antenna and radar systems.

Padma Vibhushan Dr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, Department of Space, inaugurated the workshop and presided over its inaugural function. Shri R Aravamudan, Former Director, ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore, who pioneered the development of radars in ISRO, was the Guest of Honour. Shri S K Shivakumar, Director, ISTRAC, welcomed the gathering and Shri G R Hathwar, Chairman-DARS 2009 Organising Committee, spoke on the theme of the workshop. Chairman, ISRO released the proceedings of the national workshop. Shri Aravamudan unveiled the souvenir brought out during the occasion and Shri S K Shivakumar released the compendium of antennas of various ISTRAC network stations.

In his inaugural address, Dr Madhavan Nair appreciated the organisers for conducting the workshop in the backdrop of the recent success of Chandrayaan-1. In his keynote address, Shri Aravamudan traced the development and establishment of radars for tracking launch vehicles over the past four decades, which continue to provide support for launch vehicle missions. During the function, Shri Aravamudan was presented with a Life Time Achievement Award by Dr Madhavan Nair for his contribution to ISRO during his illustrious career of 34 years. Dr Madhavan Nair was also felicitated on being conferred with Padma Vibhushan Award by the Government of India during the 2009 Republic Day Celebrations. Shri B Sambasiva Rao, General Manager, ISTRAC, proposed vote of thanks.

About 250 delegates including 65 students from various prestigious technical institutions as well as experts participated during the two-day workshop and 65 high quality technical papers from India and abroad were presented. Besides, six invited lectures were delivered on the current state of technology in the field of antenna and radar systems.