Isro scripts history, puts 8 satellites in two orbits
MILESTONE Two of the satellites were made by students of Indian universities
MUMBAI/BENGALURU: India on Monday achieved yet another space milestone when it successfully launched multiple satellites — including two made by students — from one rocket into two different orbits.
The mission was the longest for the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV C-35) that lifted off from Sriharikota at 9.12am carrying eight satellites -- three from India, including weather satellite SCATSAT-1, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the US.
The 371-kg SCATSAT-1, launched within 17 minutes of takeoff, will study oceans and help in weather forecast, including cyclone detection.
“Our space scientists keep scripting history. Their innovative zeal has touched the lives of 125 crore Indians and made India proud worldwide,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. Two of the Indian satellites were student-made.
Pratham, a 10kg satellite developed by students of Indian Institute of TechnologyBombay, will study the electron count in space which will help improve accuracy of the Global Positioning System in India, and also predict tsunamis.
The 5.25kg PISAT made by students of Bengaluru’s PES University will take pictures of earth.
The PSLV has launched 39 remote-sensing satellites for Isro, including the Mars mission of 2013-14. ‘Pratham’ – or ‘first’ in Hindi – has been designed to fit into a 30cm cube.
Conceptualised in 2008, Pratham has been worked on by students across IIT-B engineering departments and spread over seven batches. It was pioneered by then students Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay and Shashank Tamaskar, under the guidance of then head of aerospace engineering professor K Sudhakar. Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, 2016
The seven-satellite system created India’s very own satellite navigation system e terrestrial and will provide services in a host of fields, including marine navigation and disaster management
Launching 20 satellites, 2016 In June, Isro launched 20 satellites in one mission, a record for the space agency. Apart from Isro’s own satellites and those built by students, the mission carried satellites from the US, Canada and Germany
Reusable Launch Vehicle, 2016 In May, Isro successfully tested the Reusable Launch Vehicle — Technology Demonstrator (RLVTD) built at `95 crore. The vehicle was seen as the future of low cost and on-demand space access
Mangalyaan, 2014
India joined an elite global club when it successfully launched the Mars Orbiter Mission. The project collected data on Mars’ atmosphere and mineral composition
Bandyopadhyay, now a postdoctoral researcher at California Institute of Technology’s Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Tamaskar, a technical specialist with Advanced Dynamic Systems & Controls Group at Cummins Inc, USA - formed a small sixmember team.
It was 2007 and the trend of student satellites was growing all over the world, recalls Bandyopadhyay.
Chandrayaan, 2008
India’s first unmanned lunar probe was a landmark event. Isro joined a list of just six space organisations to send an orbiter to the moon
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, 1993
Developed in the 1990s, it has become the Indian space mission’s most reliable workhorse. Indian National Satellite system, 1983
Better known as Insat, the system is a network of satellites that facilitates communications across the south Asian region
Aryabhatta, 1975
It was India’s first satellite and was completely designed in the country.
“Studying in the best institute in the country, we wanted to build something that would inspire others to do great things. That was really the motivation,” Bandyopadhyay said. Pratham took eight years and seven graduating batches to finish.
In 2008, IIT-B was the first educational institute to approach Isro with the idea of launching a student satellite – evident from the name given to the mission.