The project, first conceived in 2008, will be launched as a satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Sriharikota.
The Indian Institute of technology-Bombay (IIT-B) will soon add yet another feather in its cap with the launch of satellite Pratham. The launch has been scheduled for Sunday and the IIT-B students have already started the countdown.
The project, first conceived in 2008, will be launched as a satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Sriharikota. It aims at making the institute a center for space science and technology research. The satellite is designed to fit within a cube of 30cm sides, and weighs nearly 10kg.
The satellite was conceptualised by two aerospace students – Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay and Shashank Tamaskar – while IIT-B funded the project. "We have received technical help related to testing facilities and guidance from ISRO," said project manager Manvi Dhawan. Students of seven batches participated in this project for as many as 8 years.
Talking about the satellite, Dhawan said, "The objective is to measure the exact GPS location without any error. It can also help in scientific studies, such as predicting tsunamis. It is difficult to make a satellite. That is why it took us a few years to assemble and make it. Since it is not a part of our academic curriculum, the students had take out extra time for the project every day."
For over a month, the satellite's testing was conducted at ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bengaluru and Sriharikota High Altitude Range. Speaking about his learning experience and testing, final-year aerospace engineering student Ratnesh Mishra said, "There are two main ways to accurately test the quality of the satellites as per ISRO – vibration testing and thermal vacuum testing. We got a chance to meet expert scientists, attend international conferences and learn from them. My aim to join the project was to see the control center and launch of the satellite."
The IIT-B also team shared its knowledge and facilities with other university students by conducting various workshops and sessions.
IIT-B will transmit data when the satellite passes over India. The university, with a small ground station, will be able to detect the beacon signal from Pratham satellite and will also be able to measure the Total Electron Counts (TEC) above their ground station. It will help spread awareness among the student community about the field. In Mumbai, the Atharva College of Engineering has a small ground station that can track the satellite.
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