Learn from the best: Now, IIT-Bombay will teach students to build satellites

University and college students can learn how to design and build satellites from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B).

Around 15 months after the institute launched Pratham – a 10kg microsatellite – the student satellite team will make the process of building satellites public on Wednesday, which is earmarked as National Science Day.

The student satellite team at IIT-B will unveil Satellite 101 Wiki via https://www.aero.iitb.ac.in/satelliteWiki, which is a systematic and organised compilation of the knowledge and experience gained by the team while working on Pratham.

Pratham, the microsatellite, was launched on board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C35 in September 2016, eight years after it was conceived.

READ: ‘IIT-Bombay’s Pratham microsatellite did not achieve its mission goal’

The idea of Satellite 101 Wiki was mooted following Pratham’s launch when the IIT-B student satellite team received many calls and emails from other student satellite projects asking for guidance and technical help in building the satellite.

“It is not about building a satellite like Pratham. It can be about any kind of satellite,” said Yash Sanghvi, who was part of the Pratham team, and currently project manager of the next satellite, Advitiy. “Though Advitiy and other satellites may not be like Pratham, they can make use of the principles that went into building it,” he said.

Satellite 101 wiki covers various aspects that go into building a satellite – from how to build a team and reaching a consensus on a mission statement to understanding satellite sub-systems and how to obtain the required infrastructure.

“This Wiki gave me an opportunity to hone my creative side while strengthening my own technical concepts. And it always feels nice to share your knowledge,” said Sukanya Kudva, member of the Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem of Advitiy.