StudSat
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| Operator | Studsat Consortium |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | ISRO (LSP) |
| Bus | 1U CubeSat |
| Mission type | Remote Sensing Technology |
| Launch date | 12 July 2010[1] |
| Carrier rocket | PSLV-CA C15 |
| Launch site | Satish Dhawan Space Centre |
| Mass | 950 grams (34 oz) |
| Orbital elements | |
| Regime | Sun-Synchronous Circular orbit |
| Inclination | 98° |
StudSat is a student satellite conceptualised, designed and project managed by undergraduate students across India.[2] It is a picosatellite and first of its kind in India. The StudStat was successfully launched on 12 July 2010 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre into a sun synchronous orbit. This is the smallest satellite ever launched by any Indian organisation indigenously.[3] The mission is experimental in nature and the major objective is for the students to have a hands on experience on the design, fabrication and realisation of a space mission at a minimum cost. The mission life is slated to be six months.
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[edit] History
The project was initiated by a group of four students from different Engineering colleges of Hyderabad and Bangalore who attended International Astronautical Congress, 2007, Hyderabad, India after meeting Mr. D.V.A.Raghavamurthy (Project Director, Small Satellites, ISRO Satellite Centre) at the congress. From then the team expanded slowly, ultimately completing the conceptual design. After the financial budget analysis was, the students approached the managements of their respective colleges for sponsorship. The colleges, in turn, approached Indian Space Research Organisation for preliminary review of the project. ISRO scientists approved the preliminary design review after having a set of meetings with detailed presentations by the students. The initial four member team expanded to around 45 students from 10 different colleges. Seven of the colleges formed a consortium to provide the financial sponsorship for the project. The colleges are bound by an internal MOU, led by Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore as representative college to sign official MOU with ISRO. The project team is led by Dr.Jharna Majumdar as the project coordinator.[4]
STUDSAT is successfully placed in the orbit and received the first signal on 12 July 2010 at 11:07am IST.
[edit] Studsat consortium
Studsat consortium consists of seven Engineering colleges from Hyderabad and Bangalore bound by an MOU in order to sponsor the project financially. The consortium comprises following colleges.
- Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore.[Lead College]
- M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore.
- Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, Bangalore.
- B M S Institute of Technology, Bangalore.
- Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
- Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Hyderabad.
- Vignan Institute of Technology & Science, Hyderabad.
- RNS Institute of Technology, Bangalore.
[edit] Description
The satellite resembles a small cube of size (10 cm x 10 cm x 13.5 cm), weighing just about 950 gm and has a volume of 1.1 litres. The satellite has been launched in 700 km Sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite will perform the function of a remote sensing satellite and take images of earth's surface with a resolution of 90 metres, the best achieved by any "PICO" category satellite in the world. The satellite consists of the following subsystems
- Communication sub-system.
- Power generation and distribution sub-system.
- Attitude Determination and Control sub-system.
- On Board Command and Data Handling.
- Payload(Camera).
- Mechanical Structure.
A Ground Station[5] has been designed in order to communicate with the satellite. The Ground Station NASTRAC (Nitte Amateur Satellite Tracking Centre) which is established in NMIT was inaugurated by Dr K. Radhakrishnan, the current chairman of ISRO.[6] All the above subsystems are designed by students indigenously.
[edit] Current status
The CDR has been conducted in NMIT where several scientists notably Prof U.R.Rao former chairman of ISRO have evaluated the design.[7] The CDR has been approved by ISRO. The satellite has been launched by PSLV-C15 on 12 July 2010. The team has taken over control of the satellite from the ground station established at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT) in Bangalore. The satellite is no longer in contact with the ground station.
[edit] Achievements
The team has presented a paper titled "Studsat- A Student Pico-Satellite for Imaging" in International Astronautical Congress, 2008 which was held in Glasgow, Scotland.[8] The team won Hans Von Muldau Award for the best team project awarded by International Astronautical Federation and sponsored by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt.[9] The Team has also done a National Record(INDIA)by entering into LIMCA BOOK of RECORDS-2011 Edition for creating the smallest Indian satellite.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "PSLV to launch five satellites on July 12". The Deccan Chronicle. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/national/pslv-launch-five-satellites-july-12-942. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ http://educationmaster.org/news/young-geniuses-creating-india’s-smallest-satellite.html
- ^ "Engg students creating India's smallest satellite". The Times Of India. 12 August 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bangalore/Engg-students-creating-Indias-smallest-satellite/articleshow/4883654.cms.
- ^ http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=1&contentid=200908102009081001271139076268d77
- ^ http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/formal_detail.asp?serial=164
- ^ "Students' satellite project all set to take off". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2 April 2010. http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Bangalore/article365147.ece.
- ^ http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=1&contentid=200908102009081001271139076268d77
- ^ http://www.isro.org/Announcement-opportunity/IAC2008students1.htm
- ^ "Engg students creating India's smallest satellite". The Times Of India. 12 August 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/bangalore/Engg-students-creating-Indias-smallest-satellite/articleshow/4883654.cms.
