COEP takes giant in leap in space with launch of ‘Swayam’ satellite

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Pune, June 22 : After eight years of hardwork by 176 students of the College of Engineering Pune (COEP), their Pico satellite- “Swayam” was launched successfully by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) alongwith 19 others from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Wednesday morning.

Started in late 2008, the Swayam project revolves around the challenge of building a 1U pico-satellite destined to orbit the Earth at a height of 500-800 km. The scientific objective of the mission is to demonstrate the concept of passive stabilization using magnets and hysteresis which is the first of its kind in India. The utility of the satellite is to provide point to point messaging service from one ground station to another even in remote places in the HAM band frequency. After numerous visits to ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore, the team has fabricated, assembled and tested the Qualification Model (Proto-Flight Model) of Swayam, which has all the flight specific hardware. Most of the systems were designed, fabricated and assembled in-house.

COEP student’s satellite group was working on making a Pico Satellite- “Swayam” for last eight years. Every year around 40-45 students from across the disciplines were working on making a nano satellite of size 10*10*11, weighing 990 gm.

The team has devised an ingenious passive stabilization system which employs a pair of hysteresis rods and a magnet to stabilize the satellite thus eliminating the need to use bulky and power hungry magnetorquers. This Passive Attitude Control System of SWAYAM is the first of its kind in India. The satellite houses a payload capable of half duplex communication over the HAM frequency band which enables it to receive, store and transmit messages from one corner of the globe to the other. The team has also established a functional Ground Station and tracked many amateur radio satellites.

“Each passing batch has trained the newly inducted students with the help of our faculty members. About 176 students have worked relentless for designing and developing this satellite. Valuable guidance and support given by the experts from ISRO has also played a vital role in executing the entire project”, said COEP director Dr P B Ahuja.

ISRO  launched this satellite along with its satellite CartoSat-2C from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

In Pune, the live screening of the same was done at the Main auditorium of COEP. About 800 students, alumni and faculty members had gathered at the 162-year-old premier institute to witness the live streaming of the launch. They congratulated one another after the successful launch.

The project is largely student driven involving students from all streams of engineering, thus establishing itself as a truly interdisciplinary project, a fact highly acknowledged by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The team has members spread across all years and all the disciplines of Engineering. The team can proudly state that all design work was done by the students from ground up with periodic assistance from the college faculty.

Owing to the untiring efforts put into the project by the students, the team was invited to attend the Small Satellite Systems Conference in Bangalore in April 2010. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between COEP and ISRO on 23rd May, 2013, for the development and launch of SWAYAM. The team cleared the Critical Design Review with ISRO in September, 2014.

The Flight Model assembly and testing has been completed at ISAC, Bangalore in February 2015. After that the satellite was handed over to ISRO for the launch.