The Studsat, which weighs less than 1 kg, was launched amidst much fanfare on July 21 last, onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, along with four other satellites.
Student Satellite (Studsat), the first pico-satellite, miniature satellite, developed in India by a consortium of seven engineering colleges from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, has not captured and relayed a single image to ground station since its launch last year, raising questions about its health.
The Studsat, which weighs less than 1 kg, was launched amidst much fanfare on July 21 last, onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, along with four other satellites. It reportedly did not hit the desired orbit and hence has been unable to relay images.
A student involved in the project confirmed that it could not achieve the desired orbit and missed it following the launch. “Though it was a textbook launch, we missed the target and are trying to set it right by the next two months,” the student said.
The Studsat’s main objective was to encourage research and development in miniaturised satellites in educational institutions, to establish a communication link between the satellite and ground station and to capture the image of earth with a resolution of 90 m.
Capturing the image of earth and transmitting them to the ground station at the Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT), was considered to be paramount, which could not be achieved by the students.
“The project is about 85% successful, as we got telemetry and beacon signals after the launch,” the student said.
Considering that the mission life of the project was slated to be only six months, sources said that it has been aborted.
When queried about the health of Studsat and if it has been aborted, NMIT dean (R&D) and project coordinator for the ¤55-lakh satellite, Dr Jharna Majumdar refused to comment and stated that the team was making a presentation before the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for another launch.
Isro said it was unaware of the health of the satellite, as it only facilitated its launch.
The colleges involved in the project are Bangalore-based NMIT, MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, Bangalore, BMS Institute of Technology, Bangalore, Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Hyderabad and Vignan Institute of Technology & Science, Hyderabad.
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