ISRO is all set to launch KalamSat, a satellite, demanding to be the world’s lightest satellite built by students who work with a private organisation called “Space Kidz India” in Chennai weighting less than a wooden chair at only 1.26 kg. What is more interesting is that ISRO is not charging a single rupee for the launch. It is a tribute to the former President, the satellite is named after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and the project is led by Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old from the Tamil Nadu town of Pallapatti.
“We will be launching 700-kg Microsat-R and Kalamsat with a new variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). In order to reduce the weight and increase the mass, an aluminium tank is used for the first time in the fourth stage,” K Sivan, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told IANS.
Excited as the countdown has begun this evening at 19:37 (IST). Launch is scheduled for tomorrow i.e; 24th Jan at 23:37 (IST). #ISRO #Kalamsat #PSLVC44 https://t.co/4tjh7uOM39
— Space Kidz India (@SpaceKidzIndia) January 23, 2019
🇮🇳 #ISROMissions 🇮🇳#PSLVC44 to launch #Kalamsat and #MicrosatR from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on January 24. Kalamsat is a student payload while Microsat-R is an imaging satellite.
Stay tuned for updates. pic.twitter.com/cbYzkR4s7n
— ISRO (@isro) January 16, 2019
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the satellite from its Sriharikota space centre. ISRO chief K Sivan has claimed that “Kalamsat is the lightest satellite to be ever built and launched into orbit“. Kalamsat is equipped to serve as a communications satellite for ham radio transmission, a form of wireless communication used by amateurs for non-commercial activities. A 64-gram version of Kalamsat nicknamed as ‘gulab jamun’ was earlier launched by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 2017, but it never reached the orbit.
“In this mission, the fourth stage… will be moved to higher circular orbit so as to establish an orbital platform for carrying out experiments,” ISRO chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan told.
The launch will take place around 11:40 PM from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota. With “waste to wealth innovation” ISRO is all set to launch Kalamsat.
