BITS Pilani Students Excelling in Space Technology

India is setting a new standard in the space technology with advanced technological programs being launched by the ISRO at affordable costs. The future of space technology is bright in India if the coming generation will be involved in the practical applications of the technology.

The educational institutions play a vital role in creating the future space engineers that can help space grow economically and technologically. For instance, some students of the BITS Pilani have built a microsatellite named ' Apeiro'. The satellite will study the weather and radiation patterns and come out with the outcomes. The students had worked over studying the radiation in space that will be helpful in providing the data about the weather conditions in particular flying zones. The data will be beneficial in determining the health of the commercial pilots.

What are Micro-satellites?

The microsatellites are the small-sized satellites which have low mass and size. They are cheaper designs and can be used for small experiments as they do not possess enough room for propulsion and lack the sufficient power storage.

The launch of Microsatellite:

The microsatellites are launched by the microsatellite launch vehicle. The microsatellites have unique orbital and launch timing requirements and need to be handled with precision. The students of BITS Pilani who were working on the microsatellite had approached the senior scientists of the TATA Institute of Fundamental Research and Bhabha Atomic Research Center for the launch of their microsatellite. Luckily, they were offered the ballooning launch facility by the TATA Institute of Fundamental Research and that too at zero cost. The payload through the microsatellite is scheduled to be launched from the TIRF launching facility in Hyderabad in December. The sequence of the launch will be like that the microsatellite will be launched and would float at an altitude 22 Kilometers following which the data on the space radiation will be tracked and obtained.

The scientific officers of the TATA Institute of Fundamental Research had also guided the students in converting the idea into the actual pieces of instrumentation, electronics, and detectors and helped them to solve their integration problems.

There is a lot of scope in the space domain in which the educational institutes can make their students work and learn. The space technologies are also associated with the cybersecurity in which the young technocrats have a more significant role to play. The educational institutes must invest more time and money in developing the environment in which the students can practically learn the different aspects of the space technologies.