In preparation for its 70th anniversary and, more significantly, the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, South Point High School in Kolkata has chosen to launch PriyamvadaSat, it’s very own nano-satellite.

The Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA), represented by its president Dr. L.V. Muralikrishna Reddy, and South Point High School, represented by its vice-chairman of the Managing Committee, Mr. Krishna Damani, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the grounds of the school.

The task of carrying out the launch of 75 student satellites into low Earth orbit has been given to ITCA. The project is a component of the Indian government’s Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which honors the country’s 75 years of independence. ISRO is in charge of the project’s overall monitoring. The proposed satellite has the name of the late Smt. Priyamvada Birla, who served as the chairman and promoter of the M P Birla company as well as the former president of the South Point Education Society.

For pupils to track PriyamvadaSat and collect the data it sends, a space lab cum ground station will be built on the school’s grounds. As part of routine lab procedures, a classroom model of the satellite will also be available at the Space Lab for teachers and students to assemble and reassemble. The design and fabrication phases will also involve students from Classes XI and XII. A select number of students and faculty members will receive intensive training from ITCA so they may participate firsthand in the conceptualization and design phases of the satellite. This is very important because kids will be exposed to space science first-hand as well as coding.

A combined course certification from ITCA, SPHS and the Technology Partner(s) offering the courses will be given to students who successfully complete the various training/courses designed as part of the PriyamvadaSat Mission. The Space Lab at the School will have the special responsibility of providing upcoming generations of students with first-hand experience in space sciences and sensitizing them to the vast possibilities that Space holds for humanity’s future. The satellite is scheduled to be launched from Sriharikota in around 9 months.

The school is in the process of relocating, and by 2024, it is anticipated that the ultra-modern Priyamvada Birla Campus of South Point, which is spread out across 6.65 acres of land in Mukundapur, will be open to receive students from the current campuses.

The Design, Development, Integration, Qualification, Testing, and Launch of PriyamvadaSat into Low Earth Orbit are included in the scope of the MoU that was signed between SPHS and ITCA (LEO). As part of the mission, the functional satellite will be sent into low-Earth orbit (LEO), and SPHS will have a classroom replica of the operational spacecraft. The 75 Students’ Satellites Mission, a novel program for experiential and hands-on learning, is in line with the New Education Policy of the Government of India.

Priyanka Dutta