India is all set to celebrate the 75th year of independence on August 15 and to mark the historic day, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch 75 payloads developed and built by 750 girl students from across India. Dubbed AzadiSat, the payload will ride on a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) set to conduct its maiden mission on August 7.
The project, along with the six-month Mission Jeevan, is part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, to mark the 75th anniversary of independence. The satellite will be launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at 9:18 am from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
What is AzadiSat?
Developed by 750 girl students from across India, AzadiSAT is the result of ISRO inspiring girls to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The eight-kilogram CubeSat carrying 75 different payloads, each weighing around 50 grams, will conduct fem-experiments.
ISRO said girl students from rural areas across the country were provided guidance for manufacturing these payloads, which were later integrated by the student team of “Space Kids India”. The payload includes not only a UHF-VHF transponder operating in ham radio frequencies to enable voice and data transmission for amateur radio operators, but also a selfie camera.
Azadi ka amrit mahotsav
AzadiSat also has a solid-state PIN diode-based radiation counter to measure ionizing radiation in its orbit and a long-range transponder. ISRO will use the ground system developed by Space Kidz India for telemetry and communication with payloads in orbit.
“This is the first space mission of its kind with the concept of all women to promote women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as this year’s UN theme is ‘Women in Space’,” said Rifat Sharouk , Chief Technology Officer at Space Kids India, which has developed the satellite, had told PTI.
Azadi ka mahotsav
The satellites will be launched on the newly developed Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), which aims to become an alternative for ISRO to launch small payloads on an on-demand basis. The SSLV is designed to launch a payload weighing 500 kg into a planar orbit of 500 km. By comparison, PSLV – ISRO’s workhorse – can carry a payload of 1,750 kg into a sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 600 km.
Azadi amrit mahotsav
The SSLV is a three-stage vehicle with all-solid propulsion that will insert satellites into specified orbits using a liquid propulsion-based velocity trimming module. ISRO said that the features that make SSLV attractive to customers are low cost, fast turnaround time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, on-demand feasibility and minimum launch infrastructure requirement.
The primary payload on the first mission will be the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-02), an optical remote sensing satellite that will provide information on geo-environmental studies, forestry, hydrology, agriculture, soil and thermal anomalies in the coastal region studies.
