CHENNAI: Students should come up with innovative ideas to find new societal applications using NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) satellite said P Kunhikrishnan, Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota, on Thursday.
He was speaking at an international conference on nextgen electronic technolgies conducted by Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai.
Speaking of Indian regional navigation satellite system with an operational name of NAVIC which is an autonomous satellite navigation system set up by India, he said the country has seven satellites deployed in the constellation. “We should think of how we can make use of these satellites in a judicious and optimal way. Students should come up with innovative ideas to find out new societal applications,” he said.
He also said that work was on two satellites GSLV MK-3 and GSLV -F09 which Sriharikota was planning to launch in two months.”We have completed 60 major launches/missions so far at SHAR. PSLV completed 37 consecutive successive missions and is one of the most versatile launch vehicles,” he said adding that he has been interacting with scientists from all over the world. So far, 180 satellites have been launched and Sriharikota is an excellent synergence.
Speaking to students about space mission, he said first there should be a vision, a short term or a long term vision. “From the vision, depending on the context whether it will be developing or not, there should be a mission fixed. One should be clear for what the mission has been planned. There should be a satellite and useful payloads. For communication we should have transformers,” he said adding that once the satellite is ready, a launch vehicle is required to take the satellite to space.
Recalling the olden days, he said, earlier satellite components were carried in bullock carts. The first satellite launch was in 1979. “We have come a long way from earlier times and because of tremendous progress in the field of electronics and allied subjects power simulation have been possible,” he said. Some of the missions like Mars have created and ignited millions of young minds. It has sparked a curiosity among them that how the subject electronics is used in the space, he said.
G Viswanathan, founder and Chancellor of VIT, speaking on international conference on Nextgen Electronic Technologies: Silicon to Software, said more than eight countries are participating in this conference. “We got electricity in villages in late 50s. We used oil lamps. We have all technologies in the city, but still there are many villages which haven’t seen bulbs,” he said adding that even though India is growing, yet has to develop a lot.