‘Student community must become part of ISRO family’

The student community across the country must become a part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) family, said its Chairman K. Sivan during a virtual address from Bengaluru on Thursday.

He addressed the students and faculty members of three institutions - Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, Jeppiaar Institute of Technology in Chennai and G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering in Nagpur - as he virtually inaugurated their respective satellite ground stations. The satellites developed by the students from these three institutions will be a part of the UNITYSat, which will be launched into orbit on February 28 by ISRO’s PSLV C-51.

“I am delighted to see the enthusiasm and energy shown by the youngsters to take forward the vision of space reforms in India,” Mr. Sivan said. Assuring that the Department of Space would support the students in all their major endeavours, he encouraged the college students to develop more satellites. He also invited the students to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota after taking the necessary COVID-19 precautions to witness the launch of UNITYSat.

SriShaktiSat, the satellite developed by the students of Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore, weighs around 460 g and worth nearly ₹ 2.5 crore.