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Jugnu: India's first Nano Satellite

          IIT-Kanpur with its nano satellite 'Jugnu' has set new highs in the field of space research. A team of students, working under Dr NS Vyas (the visionary man behind the making of the nano-satellite) and other faculty members of the institute, have successfully made the country's first nano-satellite to be developed for the first time by any educational institute.

          The development of the Jugnu started in the year 2008 with a team of 3 students. With time, the team has grown to the size of more than 50 students ranging from 1st year undergraduates to final year postgraduates and 14 professors from different disciplines to complete this challenging mission.
           The satellite has been handed over to two ISRO scientists, DVA Raghav Murthy (Project Director, Small Satellite Projects) and Dr SK Shiv Kumar (Director, ISRO satellite tracking centre), by President Pratibha Patil on March 6, 2010. View the pictures of the ceremony at IIT Kanpur's photo gallery.

          Golden Jubilee year of IIT Kanpur(Aug 2009- Dec 2010) will witness the launch of Jugnu from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (also known as SHAR, located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh) by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. Jugnu will be able to withstand the harshness of space environment for its estimated life span of 1 year.
             
          Weighing less than three kg and with most functionalities of a normal satellite on a small platform, the payload of the satellite will include an indigenously designed camera for near remote sensing and a GPS receiver. 'Jugnu' will transmit blinking signal at all times, all over the Earth. It will revolve around the Earth 15 times a day in polar orbit and will be visible over Kanpur for three to four times for a total of 20 minutes. After its launch, Jugnu will be continuously monitored and controlled by Ground Station located on the IIT Kanpur campus.
          The main objectives behind making a nano satellite were to serve the following applications:
1. Micro Imaging System
2. GPS receiver for locating the position of satellite in the orbit
3. MEMS based IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)
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