What Is AzaadiSat? Satellite Built By 750 Girl Students Ready To Take Off On ISRO's SSLV

The latest Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) will launch an 8-kg satellite created by 750 girl students from 75 schools across India into orbit on August 7 as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.

According to a tweet from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (INSPACe), the girl students who worked on the satellite's development will be "cheerfully looking at the maiden launch of India's latest launch vehicle SSLV, as it carries their AzaadiSat onboard as a co-passenger."

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has invited the general public to see the launch of the SLV-D1 Mission, slated for Sunday, August 7 from the viewing gallery of SDSC in Sriharikota.

The project, which has a six-month mission life, is a part of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Independence known as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. On August 15, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that this spacecraft would be launched in order to display the Indian tricolour in space in honour of the country's 75th anniversary of independence.

More About AzaadiSat, Built By 750 Girl Students:

AzaadiSAT has long-range communication transponders, selfie cameras for taking pictures of its own solar panels, and 75 Femto experiments. This is an all-women space expedition that is a first in its field. According to Rifath Sharook, Chief Technology Officer of Space Kidz India, the company that constructed the satellite, "The mission is intended to support women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, as this year's UN theme is 'Women in Space'."

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The SSLV, which weighs under 500 kg, will be installed on low-earth orbit spacecraft. SSLVs are highly sought-after for uses including earth observation and supplying internet connectivity in rural places. An earth observation satellite called MicroSat 2A is the main payload of SSLV's maiden test mission.

ISRO asserts that an SSLV rocket can be produced in a week to meet the demands of the expanding space industry. Ananth Technologies in Bengaluru facilitated the satellite testing, while Hexaware Technologies provided financial support for the project. All of the propulsion characteristics during the ground testing of the newly created solid booster stage (SS1) for the SSLV were found to be satisfactory and closely matched with the forecasts.