Kerala’s Trinity College in Thiruvananthapuram has kicked off TASSAT which is a student satellite project scheduled for completion by 2018. Since the funding for the ambitious initiative comes from an Oman-based company called Al Adrak, the satellite has been given the name Trinity Adrak Student Satellite. Who can claim that it isn’t an important year for space research in the country when the ISRO’s successful missions have earned it a Space Pioneer Award and inspired students to explore more?
The Indian Space Research Organization has its VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Center) and LPSC (Liquid Propulsion Systems Center) research facilities in Thiruvananthapuram. Trinity Engineering College’s strategic director Arun Surendran, says the capital of Kerala has become a natural space science city. So grooming the college’s youth of today to become the space researchers of tomorrow feels like a perfect fit, according to NDTV Gadgets (via IANS).
The TASSAT project will mainly be aimed at building CubeSats and NanoSats at a regular pace. The former is a small satellite with a mass of less than 1.33 kilograms and a volume of 1 liter. It is crafted using off-the-shelf materials. The latter is a satellite featuring a mass ratio anywhere between 1 to 10 kilograms. The Nanyang Technological University in Singapore already has a similar program which has shot off satellites in space by borrowing ISRO’s PSLV launch rockets.
Also see: ISRO bags Space Pioneer Award yet again, this time for Mangalyaan
Representatives from Trinity College have visited the aforesaid institute in order to understand the challenges involved. The students who graduate out of the TASSAT satellite project will be replaced by freshers to keep the team strength constant at all times. The college’s Advanced Design and Manufacturing Lab will also lend their know-how to the venture.