Students from Jaffna and TN, space startup collaborate to develop communication satellite

CHENNAI: Students of a private university in Sri Lanka and city-based space start-up SpaceKidz India have entered into a collaboration to develop a communication satellite, which is expected to be launched by space agency ISRO next year, officials said on Thursday.

For the mission, Jaffna-based Northern Uni promoted by its founder-Chairman Indira Kumar Pathmanathan exchanged documents with SpaceKidz India Founder-CEO Srimathy Kesan at an event here.

The collaboration would provide an opportunity for the students of Northern Uni, government schools in Jaffna, along with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu to jointly design, develop and launch a communication satellite.

The satellite would carry sophisticated instruments aimed at studying the space atmosphere and demonstrating cutting-edge

communication technologies, Pathmanathan said.

"The project will also mark the first student-led satellite project and government school students of Jaffna, " he told reporters. It would also offer students first-hand exposure to satellite technology and also the chance to participate in groundbreaking research that has the potential to contribute innovative solutions to global challenges.

"The initiative will equip students with essential skills in satellite development, data analysis, and communication technologies preparing them for future careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)fields," he said.

SpaceKidz India founder-CEO Srimathy Kesan said, "It is a great day for students of both India and Sri Lanka to be able to collaborate on science and technology. It is an opportunity for the students to develop their skills in STEM."

Recalling an interaction with Indira Kumar Pathmanathan, Srimathy Kesan said he told her that not many students hailing from Jaffna get access to education.

"These students have witnessed war. But, they did not have any access to education. Only about 4,500 students of the total 22,000 students (from Jaffna) have access," she said and this encouraged Pathmanathan to provide them the opportunity to study science and technology.

According to Northern Uni officials, two campus ambassadors -- Meenakshi Sundaram and Kasthury Natharuban currently pursuing their graduation in science and technology -- would be involved in educating the students at the University on the space exploration programme.

IN-SPACe Ahmedabad Director Prafulla Kumar Jain who was present on the occasion said international cooperation is required while studying about space and today's MoU (between Northern Uni and SpaceKidz India) s is a real international collaboration as space does not have any boundaries.

"SpaceKidz have been involved in the Indian space programme with their maiden Kalamsat-V2 successfully launch (in 2019)", he said.

The student payload Kalamsat-V2 used in the fourth stage of the PSLV-C44 mission was successfully placed into designated orbit in January, 2019.

Later responding to a query, Srimathy Kesan said it would take at least a year for developing the communication satellite. "We have signed the MoU today. We will submit our proposal to ISRO. The Mission launch may take place between October-December 2025", she said.

The Mission comprises two phases with Phase 1 would focus on training the students in space and technology. About 50 school students from Sri Lanka, 10 school students from Tamil Nadu would undergo comprehensive training. This phase has been designated to give participants a foundational understanding of satellite development and space missions.

The second phase would involve 30 college students from Sri Lanka who would be directly engaged in building, integrating and preparing the satellite ahead of the mission launch, they said.