Designing a satellite is fun for this local lad

HYDERABAD: The steeper the mountain, the harder the climb and the better the view from the finishing line. This inspirational quote may impress many but not local lad Thigulla Rahul Kishore for whom the finishing line is not the peak but the sky. Rahul was part of a team of students that worked for twoand a half years and produced the pico satellite named Studsat. The satellite, weighing less than 1 kg, is probably the first in the world to have been produced by a group of undergraduate students. It was put in orbit by scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently.

Recollecting his rollercoaster ride with the satellite, Rahul, an engineering graduate from the Institute of Aeronautics, Dundigal, recalls: "At the Indian Aeronautical Congress held in 2007, some of my friends decided on this project after meeting ISRO scientist DVA Raghavamurthy. It was in later stages that I was invited to be a part of the project for which I readily agreed."Rahul Kishore was then selected to be the core leader for the Structure Mechanisms group and was the engineer behind the conceptual layout, designing and component placement of the satellite. At that age, when one would not even dare dream of designing a complex machine like a satellite, but Rahul went ahead on the road less travelled by.

"Designing something from thin air with a lot of unknowns has always fascinated me. So designing the pico satellite was rather fun and something I enjoyed doing. I had to learn a couple of design and analysis softwares as designing requires creativity and analytical thinking. I came up with four different structural layouts for the satellite out of which we selected one," he explains.

Though it was work, work and work from the word go, the youngsters decided to bring in a little fun to work under more relaxed atmosphere. "The brain storming sessions were sometimes held in a coffee shop or in my room sipping a cup of coffee or tea," Rahul says.

The youngster also had the task of balancing both studies and the project as he would frequently travel to Bangalore to meet up with other team members and scientists. Just when Rahul and his team thought the only thing they had to worry about was making a functional satellite, the reality dawned upon them.

"The project required a lot of money. Besides, it was the first of its kind. Now, for anyone to invest in an unknown commodity, that too in such a venture, it definitely would look risky. After the idea assumed a solid shape with the help of ISRO scientists, following a review, we presented this to our college managements. Our managements supported our idea and we are thankful to them for supporting us till the end with anything we needed, right from finance to technical supports," Rahul says humbly.

The satellite cost around Rs 55 lakh and the Institute of Aeronautical Engineering along with 6 other colleges funded the project. For Rahul and his team, the countdown to take off gave some anxious moments. But Rahul missed the glorious sight of his dream machine take off as he was in Norway at the time. "It was thrilling, knowing that something you've worked on, a part of it being your brainchild is on that majestic vehicle (PSLV) and will be up in space in no time..it was a moment of pride for me. I was in Norway but I did speak to my mates on phone."

Studsat (short form for student satellite) will be in space for the next 23 years and will send images with a resolution of 90 metres of the earth's surface. Rahul's original ambition was to be a fighter pilot and make his country proud. He may not be flying the MiGs or F16s but he has certainly made the country proud. And that is what matters in the end.