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Isro to launch city college's academic satellite

Coimbatore: A private engineering college in the city has designed and developed a satellite that could perform all Internet of Things (IoT) right from detecting an underground pipeline leakage to fire in forest or multi-storeyed buildings.

Named SriShakthiSat, the satellite is developed by the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology at Chinniyampalayam.



The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) is expected to launch this satellite, along with two other satellites built by JPR Institute of Technology in Chennai and GH Raisoni College of Engineering at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, through PSLV-C51 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on February 28.

While the Isro has launched nine academic satellites that were developed by various universities in the country, it is for the first time it is launching the ones that are built by private engineering colleges.

Addressing the media, S Thangavelu, chairman, Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, said the students and faculties of information technology, computer science, and electronics and communication engineering departments had been working on the project for the past 10 years and spent more than Rs2 crore to build the satellite. “We will hand over the satellite to the Isro on February 5.”

According to him, the academic satellite weighs just 460 gram. “As the satellite would be placed at 500km to 575km above the earth, it would cross India twice a day. To get data round the clock, it will intercommunicate with 300 other satellites. It is built in such a way to collect information regarding bank burglaries, underground water leakage and fire accidents in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and ONGC site in Thanjavur. While the active period of the satellite is six months, it would send signals for another three years.”

Thangavelu said the satellite would be used only for academic purposes and the information would be made available to the students from other colleges and schools to encourage space literacy. “We have filed for 29 patents so far.”

Pointing out that most of the satellites that the Isro had launched until recently were government funded, he said, “It is only after the formation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre in June 2020 that private institutes are being encouraged to develop satellites. We had obtained all the required permissions, including registration and frequency allocations, through a single window facility.”

The college has set up a satellite ground station on its premises and it would be inaugurated by K Sivan, chairman, Isro, on Thursday.

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