IIT-Kanpur satellite Jugnu in its final stages

The micro satellite being developed by IIT-Kanpur in association with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is in its final stages. The satellite has been named ‘Jugnu’. The satellite will be handed over to ISRO in November where it will be tested and launched.

The work on the satellite began with an aim to gather information about flood draught and help in with disaster management.

A member of the team `Jugnu’ informed, “The images collected will also be useful in studying vegetation and the water bodies. The satellite design is mostly indigenous. In view of the high cost associated with the launch special efforts is being made to keep the weight to the lowest minimum.”

The team member of `Jugnu’ further added, “Usually two models of the satellite are built, Qualification Model and Flight Model. Certain tests will be carried out in the Qualification model whereas a few number of tests will be done in the Flight model. The satisfactory performance of the Qualification model will give green signal to the flight model for the launch.”

Last year in August, both ISRO and IIT-K had inked a MoU to develop a micro satellite dedicated for agricultural purpose.

“A team of mechanical engineering department of the institute has almost finished the work on the satellite. They will need another 6-7 months to give final touch to the project,” IT Kanpur director Prof Sanjoy Govind Dhande said.

The hi-tech cameras fitted in the satellite will send photographs regarding agriculture, weather and soil to the base station, he said.

The satellite can also be used to link other big satellites in the space, he added.

An estimated amount of Rs2.5 cores has been spent in the development of this project. Jungu weigh 3kg’s and is 34cm’s in length. Scientists have made use of indigenous technology to develop ‘Jungu’ and special cares and efforts were given to keep the weight to as low as possible.

Jungu’s life span is designed for about one year. Jugnu`s design will have to incorporate many parameters as it will have to face high vibrations even before its ejection. The high doses of radiation can cause damage to the system memory. There are many other functionality constraints on the satellite hardware due to the limited power availability.

The efforts of the team `Jugnu’ was appreciated by Dr David Morrison, director, NASA Lunar Science Institute who was the chief guest in `Techkriti’ which concluded on Sunday.