Chennai: Jaihind-1S, the satellite developed by four, first-year engineering students – K J Harikrishnan, P Amarnath, G Sudhi and T Giri Prasad – from Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science in Kelambakkam, will be launched into space from the NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility tomorrow.
The satellite, which weighs only 33.39 grams, is made by 3D printing its outer casing and will be flown on a balloon.
Speaking to ‘News Today,‘ Prof G Dinesh Kumar, who mentored the boys, said, “Nowadays, we humans are planning to habitat mars and other planets; so, studying about various materials and how they work in microgravity is becoming mandatory.”
“Moreover, 3D printing is a developing technology. So, this satellite is made by 3D printed nylon. Since it is lightweight and has high heat and abrasion resistance, this was chosen. We will check the working of nylon in microgravity and determine whether it can be used in future space mission,” he said.
He further said the satellite will also measure the acceleration, pitch,
yaw and rolling movement of the balloon so that they can track its trajectory.
“The satellite will record the weather parameters like temperature, pressure, humidity, lapse rate, etc. at different altitudes,” he added.
Speaking about the working, Harikrishnan, one among the four students, said the satellite has the capability of measuring 20 different weather parameters and recording four different parameters per second.
“It stores its data inside an in-built SD card. The satellite will house sensor modules such as saturated vapour pressure, actual vapour pressure and lapse rate which will be helpful to study different weather conditions. After reaching a particular height, the satellite will be dropped and retrieved. We will further do studies based on the data stored in the SD card,” he said.
He further said the satellite has been tested for a height of 40 feet.
| ALL ABOUT IT |
| Jaihind – 1S is an experimental satellite which has been awarded the lightest micro satellite by India Book of Records.
The satellite is especially made for the ‘Cubes in Space’ competition conducted by Colorado Space Grant Consortium, NASA, and idoodle-learning and is expected to be exposed to the near space environment for at least 8 hours with 12 hours total flight duration. |