The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the launch of Anusat, India's first student-made satellite, either on 5 or 6 April. The nano-satellite will be carried on the back of polar satellite launch vehicle Risat-2 from Srihaikota. It will establish itself in its own designated orbit after separating from RISAT-2 in space.

 

According to S Satish, ISRO's chief spokesperson, this is the first time that a satellite made by students is being launched. The idea behind this is to motivate the younger generation to work for India's space missions. As per the statement made by a spokesman for Anna University, the parent body governing the institute, Anusat will operate in a low earth orbit, at an altitude between 600 and 800 km. Data from its "store and forward" payload will be received at both Chennai Tech University and Pune University. It will provide students with hands-on experience in space sciences and technology. It will be most useful for amateur communication.

Anusat is the result of brainstorming by 37 aerospace engineering students and 10 of their instructors at the Madras Institute of Technology, the alma mater of former President and rocket scientist A P J Abdul Kalam. This student-made satellite is designed in such a way so that it carries drought and wasteland monitoring, urban planning, and mineralogical mapping.