Bhubaneswar, Oct. 24 -- India is planning to establish a dedicated Atmospheric and Space Science Research Facility (ASRF) at Chandipur in Odisha's Balasore district. The Department of Space has invited tenders for the proposed centre, which will support research into atmospheric processes, weather and the space environment.

According to India Today, the facility is being developed jointly by the Department of Space, the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The project builds on the Balasore Rocket Launching Station, which has been operational since 1979. The station is used to launch sounding rockets equipped with scientific instruments to collect data from the upper atmosphere.

The AS...