The satellite design and launch project by government school students has been named after the late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar. The Puneeth Rajkumar Student Satellite Project will be launched by September 2022.
C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Science and Technology, made the announcement on Monday while presiding over a function at the Government Pre-University College in Malleswaram on the occasion of National Science Day and the inauguration of the Karnataka Government School Students’ Satellite Project (KGS3Sat) .
An MoU was inked between the Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society (KSTePS) and the Indian Technological Congress Association (ITCA) with regard to implementation of the project. This is one of the 75 satellites to be launched in the country to celebrate 75 years of Independence.
According to a release, the ground station of the project will be set up on the premises of the college and 100 students of 20 government schools have been selected based on performances in various competitions and tests. The proposed satellite will weigh 1.5 kg, the Minister said.
“A few years ago, any satellite would have weighed a minimum of 50 kg and the project would have cost about ₹50-60 crore. But the development of technology has made it possible to reduce the satellite to weigh just 1.5 kg and the cost has been reduced to ₹1.9 crore,” said the release.
Introductory programmes, online and offline, hands-on learning, and tutorial models in Kannada and English will be part of the project. In addition, the web links of required content will be provided to students and classes related to it will commence on April 22, the Minister added.
The release further said knowledge of satellite payload, introduction to nanosatellites, visiting scientific institutions located in Bengaluru, visiting Sriharikota during the launch of the satellite, interaction with scientists, training at the ground station, publication of required books, and other activities will be part of ₹1.9-crore project.
