With immense pride and honour, we want to inform you that Marwadi University has partnered with ISRO and ITCA to launch the first-ever student satellite of Gujarat.
With the primary emphasis on speeding up student innovation, Marwadi University, the youngest institution to receive recognition from the Gujarat government as a Centre of Excellence, has signed an MoU with ITCA to form a special lab and timeline to launch satellites.
Here’s What You Need to Know about the Student Satellite:
Gujarat’s first student satellite, having a mass of 1300 grams and a payload of 260 grams, will be made under the 75 Students Satellites Mission 2022 by Marwadi University’s students and faculty.
While the ITCA will lead the design of the primary payload of the satellite, MU will take up the responsibility for the secondary payload under the direction of the ITCA.
The sole pursuit of the mission is to familiarise students with how to design, create, manufacture, incorporate, launch and monitor SmallSats using a hands-on pattern.
New Space Lab Coming Up – What to Expect?
The space lab will provide real-time instruction for satellite communications. AI-ML algorithms can be used to process the ground station data to predict the required information, which can then be shared with other stakeholders like the government or industry.
With guidance from ITCA’s renowned SpaceTech team, Mission 2022 will give students a science-based education and experience-based learning, enhancing their systems engineering and project management skills.
“This Mission’s science-based approach and experience-based learning would build a culture of innovation in the country in alignment with the NEP 2020. These NewSpace skills would be of significant value to the students and would also enhance the education and research levels of the institution”, says L.V. Muralikrishna Reddy, President, ITCA.
He further added, ” We are glad to onboard Marwadi University as a participating institution with proven design and launching capabilities. The program will build and sharpen students’ skills in design, development, manufacture, integration, testing, launch, and monitoring of small satellites”.
What is 75 Students’ Satellites Mission 2022?
In order to build and initiate small satellites (SmallSats) into low-earth orbit, students pursuing higher education are encouraged to participate in the 75 Students’ Satellites Mission 2022. It envisioned 75 prestigious institutions deploying their student-built SmallSats in the ceremony of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The aspirational and ambitious 75 Students’ Satellites Mission 2022 strives to create and release student-built satellites into orbit in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The university will finance the establishment of a specialized space lab with INR 1.9 crores in funding.
Future Prospects in Space Economy:
The economy for small satellites is currently worth $325 billion and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 16.4% to $1371 billion by 2030. As per the reports, the Indian space sector accounts for only 2% of the $440 billion global space economy.
However, this 2% is good enough to set the stage for a competitive market in the near future and offer massive employment and start-up opportunities. Such collaboration between Marwadi University and ITCA takes advantage of the numerous opportunities a developing space-tech sector offers its students.
On this honourable affair, Prof Sandeep Sancheti, Provost, Marwadi University, said “At MU, we are excited to offer our students emerging opportunities in deeper tech cultures and multidisciplinary learning in NewSpace. Only 12 institutions so far have been able to build and launch their satellites. This opportunity puts MU in the league of some of the very top institutions in India and abroad. This will help to attract bright teaching and learning talent, as well as add value concerning learning and research outcomes, placements, and better NBA/NAAC/NIRF scores”.
Being a part of a bright institute like Marwadi University will ensure immense learning, growth and opportunities for young learners. Marwadi University, one of the top universities in Gujarat, is also a NAAC A+ graded institute. With more than 50 courses offered across 10+ programmes, it is the best university for students from a variety of backgrounds.