-Mita Mukherjee

South Point School, Kolkata in West Bengal is developing its own nano satellite and a space laboratory for students at its campus.

The nano satellite will be built with the assistance of the Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) which is the nodal agency for students’ satellite mission of the Centre and under the supervision of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The South Point School satellite named PriyamvadaSat is expected to be launched after nine months from ISRO’s Sriharikota centre.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at the premises between South Point School and ITCA on Tuesday. The ITCA has been entrusted with the responsibility to execute the launch of 75 student satellites into low Earth orbits. The project to launch 75 tiny satellites built by students has been conceived by the Centre to celebrate the nation’s 75^th independence day.

The students of South Point School will be able to monitor the PriyamvadaSat from the ground station cum space lab to be established at the school premises. They will also be able to collect data at the centre sent by the satellite.

“ The Space Lab at the school will play the unique role of giving future generations of students a first-hand experience into space sciences as well as sensitise them into the immense possibilities that the Space holds for mankind’s future,” according to the school.

A model of the satellite will also be kept at the space laboratory to enable students and faculty members to get a better understanding of the functioning of the satellite.

A group of students of Classes XI and XII who will be involved during the design and fabrication stage of the satellite will be given intense training from ICTA.

“This will remain a milestone in the history of South Point School. The launching of the 75 student satellites is a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav of the Government of India to commemorate the 75 years of India’s freedom. We are the second private school in the country and first in Eastern India  to sign this MoU. Forty nine institutions across the country have signed this MoU. Universities and colleges are mostly a part of this project,” said Krishna Damani,  vice-chairman of the managing committee of the South Point School.

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