Isro to launch IIT-B's `Pratham’ satellite in September

IIT-Bangalore is all set to join the league of satellite makers with an Isro rocket taking off with the institute's 10-kg student satellite `Pratham' sometime in September.

Isro's four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will carry `Pratham' along with its main satellite `ScatSat' and a few other satellites.

Pratham, first conceived in 2007, was dogged by delays for a variety of reasons, upsetting its launch schedule for almost nine years.

The satellite is currently at the clean room of the Isro Satellite Centre in Bengalaru and the exact launch date has not been set, reports quoting Pratham project manager Ratnesh Mishra, a final year IIT-B aerospace student, said.

Isro will decide the exact launch date.

The satellite, which will be placed at an altitude of 720 km, will measure "electron count", which will be useful for scientific studies, correcting errors in communication like the GPS and also help in tsunami warnings.

The total cost of the project is about Rs1.5 crore and the satellite has a four-month mission span.

IITB is setting up a ground station at the IIT campus and another at Atharva College in Malad to track Pratham.

An eight-member IIT team will leave for Sriharikota for the pre-launch activities a few days before the take-off.

The success of the `Pratham' project wll make IIT-B a centre for advancement of satellite and space technology.

Isro will launch its geostationary weather satellite INSAT- 3DR using a GSLV-MKll rocket by the end of this month. This will be followed by the launch of the `ScatSat' in September

Isro has set 28 August as the tentative date for the launch of the weather satellite INSAT-3DR.