KARUR: Dream is not that which you see while sleeping. It is something which doesn’t let you sleep – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Inspired by the Missle Man, three students developed what is believed to be the world’s smallest and lightest Technology Demonstrator Satellite (TDS). US space agency NASA will give wings to the aspirations of the youth and launch their IND SAT next year.
Final-year BSc Physics students, M Adnaan of Thanthonimalai and V Arun of Thennilai, joined hands with their friend M Kesavan of Malaikovilur, who is studying Electronics and Communication Engineering in Coimbatore, and came up with the micro satellite.
Adnaan, Design and Technology Engineer of IND SAT said, “NASA conducts an annual competition called Cubes In Space (CIS), where entries are received from across the globe. More than 25,000 projects from 73 countries entered the competition.
Among them, only 88 were selected and our ‘Indian SAT’ was the only satellite in the competition which was selected by NASA for launching into the orbit on their Sounding Rocket 7 (SR 7) in June 2021. This is indeed a very proud moment for us.” Arun, Indian SAT’s Hardware & Software Designer, said, “Our Technology Demonstrator Satellite is made of reinforced graphene polymer.
The satellite which is 3 cm in size weighs only 64 gms. It is fitted with 13 sensors that can calculate more than 20 parameters. The satellite has its own RF (Radio Frequency) communication to transmit and receive signals from outer space to Earth and is powered by solar cells.” Kesavan, Testing Engineer of Indian Sat, said, “Adnaan and I started this project when we were studying in school together.
Our previous attempts failed and we later got guidance from Space Kidz India Organization.” The Karur Government Arts College was the chief sponsor and Shiva Educational Trust was the co-sponsor for the project. Apart from this, Aravakurichi MLA Senthil Balaji donated Rs 1 lakh and DMK president MK Stalin handed over a sum of Rs 2 lakh to motivate them.