A private engineering college named Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, has designed and developed a satellite.
Hisana Thasneem
Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO Inaugurated Sri Shakthi Satellite Ground Station on 28 Jan 2021 | credits: Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology
A private engineering college named Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, has designed and developed a satellite that is able to perform all IOT (Internet of Things) right from detecting an underground pipeline leakage to fire in forest or multi-storeyed buildings. The satellite named Sri Shakthi Sat, after the collage Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology at Chinniyampalayam.
ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is expecting to launch this satellite, along with two other satellites built by GH Raisoni College of Engineering at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra and JPR Institute of Technology in Chennai, through PSLV-C51 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on February 28.
ISRO had already launched nine academic satellites that were developed by various universities in the country, this is for the first time it is launching a satellite that is built by private engineering colleges.
S Thangavelu, Chairman of Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, said that students and faculties of electronics and communications, information technology and computer science departments had been working on the project for the past 10 years and spent more than Rs. 2.5 crores to build the satellite. They will hand over the satellite to the ISRO on February 5.
$ads={1}
He also mentioned that, the academic satellite weighs just 460 grams. It is supposed to be placed at 500 km to 575 km above the earth, it would cross India twice a day. To get enough information round the clock, it will intercommunicate with 300 other satellites. It is built in such a way to collect information regarding underground water leakage bank burglaries and fire accidents in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and ONGC site in Thanjavur. While active period of the satellite is six months, it is designed to send signals for another three years.
He also mentioned that the satellite would be used only for academic purposes and the information would be made available to the students from other colleges and schools to encourage space literacy. They also have filed for 29 patents so far for the mission.
By analysing about the previous launching of different satellites, most of the satellites that the ISRO had launched until recently were government funded, but it is only after the formation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre in June 2020 that private institutes are being encouraged to develop satellites. This can add great developments in space research.
The college has initially set up a satellite ground station on its premises and it would be inaugurated by K Sivan, the chairman of ISRO on Thursday.