IIT Bombay alumni

Dream Innovation Contest 2019

Defence Research and Development Organisation

I Booster

Untitled Carousel IIT Hyderabad and KIIT Bhubaneshwar researchers develop bio-bricks from agricultural waste Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) School of Architecture, Bhubaneshwar have developed bio-bricks from agricultural waste. The researchers claim that these bio-bricks come for an economical price and are helpful for low-cost housing projects.

Tushar Jadhav (right) and Rohit Shanbag work on the I Booster

Tushar Jadhav receives the DRDO innovation award from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

ISRO PSLV C35 satellite

Untitled Carousel Doordarshan official in Chennai suspended for allegedly failing to telecast PM Narendra Modi's IIT speech An official of the Doordarshan has been placed under suspension for allegedly leaving out some portions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during his Chennai visit recently.

Two, who are developing an eco-friendly propulsion system for satellites, recently won a DRDO award.Two IIT Bombay alumni are on the path of an innovation that can virtually transform how satellites work. Tushar Jadhav, 29, and Ashtesh Kumar, 26, under the aegis of their start-up Manastu Space Technologies and along with IIT B, are developing I Booster, a green propulsion system that uses high performance and eco-friendly fuel to boost the performance of satellites. It won them the third prize on October 15 at the Dare to, organised by the(DRDO), which encourages innovations in defence and aerospace technologies. The duo is now all set to showcasenext month at the S-Booster 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. Manastu is the only Indian space startup to be shortlisted to compete for a grand prize of 10 million yen (about Rs 65.22 lakh).The I Booster comprises a thruster – a small scale rocket engine weighing approximately 200gm – which, aided with a catalyst and green fuel, can boost the performance of a satellite while bringing down production costs as well as risk factors. “We have cleared six of the nine levels of NASA’s Technology Readiness Levels (TLR), which measures the maturity level of a particular technology. We hope to clear the remaining three by 2021,” says Jadhav, who has worked with the DRDO.2021 is a strategic year as far as space technology goes as the US and the European Union have decided to tax heavily, if not ban, hydrazine as a space fuel. “Hydrazine is a lowperforming, extremely toxic and carcinogenic fuel. It’s twice more dangerous than methyl isocyanate, the gas that caused the Bhopal gas tragedy. People have died on field while handling it,” explains Jadhav.Manastu’s as yet unnamed fuel, which is a combination of hydrogen peroxide with an additive, once commercialised, would be competing with ammonium dinitramide (AND), being developed by the European Space Agency, and hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) that’s being developed by NASA. “Our fuel is expected to be more efficient, and the entire propulsion system would be around 60 per cent cheaper than those fuels once we reach the market. That would give us an added advantage. This has aroused the interest of both the DRDO and ISRO in our product,” he says. The IIT B has already applied for a patent, while they are in the process of writing three more, Jadhav says.Dr Arindrajit Chowdhury, associate professor, Mechanical Engineering, who along with Jayesh Bellare, professor, Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay, has been mentoring Kumar and Jadhav for years, says, “A lot of complex things happen simultaneously when we use hydrogen peroxide as a fuel. Manastu has made major strides in perfecting the process, and if we can successfully develop this safer and cheaper technology, we shall have a lucrative solution not only for the Indian space industry, but anybody who’s launching a satellite across the world.”The encouragement and recognition, apart from bringing in the much-needed funds, is also paving the way for Manastu to scale up. The technopreneurs, who floated the company in 2017, are looking to scale up the business by expanding their seven-member team next month. They are scouting for a wellappointed facility of their own. They are also putting into good use the people management lessons they learnt as part of the historic IIT Bombay Student Satellite Project that launched thein 2016. “The technology is just one part of it. Explaining the vision to people, and then getting them to actually execute it, was a huge lesson which is coming into use for us again now,” says Jadhav, who along with his team, puts in an average of 12 to 13 hours’ work every day.The high of the innovation has indeed touched all who are part of the project. “Not many of our students delve into developing technology after leaving the institution. Personally, I’m extremely proud of the work Kumar and Jadhav are doing, and the hard work they do often puts me to shame,” says Chowdhury.