







The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched what it claims is the world's lightest satellite ever to be placed in orbit.

The Kalamsat-V2 satellite weighed only 1.26kg (2.6lb) and was made by students at a space education firm.

Kalamsat-V2 is designed to help ham radio operators, as well as to inspire children to become scientists and engineers, according to India's space agency.

The satellite was launched from the Sriharikota space centre. In addition to launching the Kalamsat-V2, the ISRO also launched an imaging satellite, known as Microsat-R, for India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Both satellites will make the journey on a new variant of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket.

K Sivan, the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, told India News Today (IANS) that they will launch the 700-kg Microsat-R and Kalamsat with a new variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and to reduce the weight and increase the mass, an aluminum tank is used in the fourth stage for the first time ever.

An Indian high-school team led by Rifath Shahrukh, an 18-year-old from the Tamil Nadu town of Pallapatti was responsible for the development of the Kalamsat satellite, the world's lightest satellite and the first satellite to be 3D printed. The satellite is named after the former Indian president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

Srimathy Kesan, Founder-CEO of Space Kidz India, told IANS that the Kalamsat is a 10cm cube nano-satellite weighing approximately 1.2kg, with a life-span of about two months.

The Kalamsat launch is part of a more extensive program working to involve Indian students with the ISRO. Space Kidz is a program whose goal is to include high-school students closely with India's top researchers.

Last week, the ISRO chairman K. Sivan explained to the media that three students from each of the 29 states and seven union territories would be chosen for training at ISRO Centers. They will have the chance to work closely with top scientists from the ISRO and to produce small satellites.

The launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota.

Furthermore, the PSLV was launched in a new configuration known as PSLV-DL. Traditionally the rocket would have six strap-on motors hugging its first stage. But, for this satellite launch, it had an arrangement of only two strap-on motors.

Around 14 minutes into its flight the rocket ejected Microsat R at an altitude of roughly 277km. The Kalamsat will benefit from the rocket's fourth stage.

This launch marks the first time that a student-designed satellite has been delivered into a proper orbit since its earlier satellites were only suborbital ones. ISRO is enhancing its program with several more satellite missions planned in 2019.

The organization also said that under the space-Kidz program they are planning a new satellite with the ability to perform space-based experiments.

The founder and CEO of Space Kidz India, Srimathy Kesan told local news that they are planning to build a satellite named Vikramsat that will conduct some biological experiments in space. Through this, they hope to contribute in a small way to India's ambitious human space mission Gaganyaan.

Another launch set to take place in 2019 is a satellite built out of a collaboration between the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the California Institute of Technology.







