BITS-Pilani students build 30 nano satellites

Nearly two years after Pratham, a satellite designed and built by students of IIT-Bombay was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into space, a group of students at BITS-Pilani are building a constellation of thirty remote sensing nano-satellites.

Students at BITS-Pilani's Rajasthan and Goa campus have come together to make 'FireFly', a constellation of thirty satellites that will be launched by the end of 2019. The shoe-box size satellites will be several times more effective than a single satellite as it will generate data at more frequent intervals.

The constellation will predict weather for agriculture, ocean monitoring and an array of other important tasks. "It can predict yields, crop health and pest infestations very accurately," said Awais Ahmed, a dual-degree student who conceptualised the idea, along with Kshitij Khandelwal and Shivani Singh in January.

The core trio enlisted a few more students, and Team 'Pixxel' is now made up of 35 members. "We also got calls from BITS Goa campus and some of those students are working with us," he added.

The project involves three phases – collecting near real-time satellite imagery and weather data using nano-satellites; analysing the date using neural networks and cloud computing horsepower; formulate accurate forecasts.

The group plans to approach ISRO for permissions and other approvals.