GUNTUR: As Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed rocket was successfully launched into space, Sai Divya Kurapati, the mastermind behind one of its payloads, is elated for being a part of the historic moment. In a telephonic conversation with The New Indian Express, Sai Divya, founder of N Space Tech, said that she was euphoric after watching live the rocket launch from Sriharikota and sharing the stage with her role models.
A childhood fascination with space and satellites has driven Divya to design and develop the CubeSat LakshyaSAT II -- the payload on board Vikram-S.
A native of Tenali, Divya is a research scholar in Satellite Communications. An engineering graduate in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Bapatla Engineering College, Sai Divya completed her M.Tech from KL University specializing in Communication and Radar Systems. She later enrolled in a PhD program in Satellite Communications.
It was during a presentation by a US-based professor at a workshop on CubeSat, that she was inspired to build a satellite of her own. Speaking about her objective in setting up her own startup, N Space Tech, Divya explained, as part of my research when I required a CubeSat and contacted a few firms, the price was so high that I couldn’t afford them.“So, to build affordable small satellites that are easily deployable and to bring space technology to the masses and inspire young minds, I founded N Space Tech,” she said.
N stands for her mother Nagaja who passed away 3 years ago. In March this year, CubeSat LakshyaSAT I was launched successfully with the help of a high-altitude balloon into the stratosphere from the United Kingdom. After its success, there is no stopping Divya.
“Receiving the flight certificate from B2Space certifying the successful launch was one of the happy moments of my life. It gave me the wings to venture into this more deeply. Soon after, when I was given an opportunity to be part of Vikram S, I wanted to utilize it to my best and worked very hard,” she added.
Divya along with her business partner and co-founder of N Space Tech Raghuram Kothamas worked for seven months to build LakshyaSAT II and set up a telecommunication module and a few other communication subsystems to make it better than its former version.
The current payload has seven sensors that can measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and various parameters and collect flight data even in extremely adverse conditions. With its success, Divya will next work on the next version of LakshyaSAT which will be launched into low earth orbit through Vikram I.
Asked about her dream project, she replied it’s the orbital launch of 1U CubeSat which will establish two-way communication and later, to send a constellation of CubeSats for more enhanced communication.