Sadhu Vaswani Mission’s secondary school launches CUBSAT Miniature Satellite
- St. Mira’s Secondary School launches CUBSAT Miniature Satellite
Pune, India – Sadhu Vaswani Mission’s secondary school held a 2-day workshop in association with Suresh Naik Space Education Center & Punekar Educational Initiatives. The students were trained to develop a simulation of a real satellite.
The two day Cubsat Satellite Mission Workshop comprised of satellite design, its construction & launching by the school students. This was the first ever satellite program by girls school in India. It was organized on 30th November and 1stDecember 2018. The workshop was guided by the eminent space scientist Suresh Naik, Chairman of International Space Society & former group director of ISRO, who is well known in popularising Space Science. Suhas Punekar, Chairman of Punekar Educational Initiatives also participated in this workshop.
The workshop aimed at providing the basic knowledge of space science, satellites, electronics and embedded systems followed by hands-on activity by student groups. The students guided by the trainers fitted all the major subsystems found in a satellite, such as power, sensors and a communication system.
In the first day, students learnt to design the Cubsat satellite. Nine student teams built their own miniature satellites fitted into a small can and equipped with a parachute.
On the second day, they learnt to use the satellites to collect live data from an altitude of 10 to 20 meters above the earth’s surface. The climax of this fascinating mission was the launch of the satellites at 4:30PM on the school grounds in the presence of the working chairperson of Sadhu Vaswani Mission, Krishna Kumari, dignitaries and parents.
Amongst applause from parents, teachers and dignitaries, the 9 teams watched excitedly their self-built Cubsats launched into the air with the help of a drone and descending gracefully by means of a parachute, and at the same time transmitting the real-time data wirelessly about the environment including air temperature, humidity and altitude to a receiver & recorded on a laptop on the ground.
The budding women astronauts were given a medal and certificate of participation & the best three groups received a trophy. The students will get ample opportunities to meet and interact with experts from ISRO and NASA as audio-video sessions, faculty visits and site visits are planned.
The school strives to impart practical knowledge to the students in line with Rev. Dada J.P. Vaswani’s teaching – Knowledge without action is empty as shadow.
The Principal Mrs. Anjali Raghani’s vision and hard work once again culminated in another success story. She thanked the management and the organisers for providing the students their first practical experience of a real space project.
