RNS: A nanosatellite will carry a copy of the Bhagavad Gita into space will be scheduled to be launched by 28 February by polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV)- C51 rocket.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch this satellite (Satish Dhawan Satellite, or SD SAT) into space along with a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the names of 25,000 individuals.
According to the reports, SpaceKidz India, an organization that promotes space science between students, created this nanosatellite. It will also hold three science-based payloads, one studying spatial radiation and one studying the magnetosphere.
Meanwhile, the third payload will demonstrate a low-power wide-area communication network, it said.
Hindustan Times reported that: “There is a lot of excitement in the group right now. This will be our first satellite to be deployed in space. When we finalised the mission, we asked people to send in their names that will be sent to space. And, within a week we received 25,000 entries. Of these, 1,000 names were sent in by people from outside India. There is a school in Chennai that sent in the names of everyone. We decided to do this because it will spark the interest of the people in the mission and space science,” said Dr Srimathy Kesan, founder and CEO of SpaceKidz India.
The people who sent in their names were given a “boarding pass”.
Kesan added that they decided to send a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to space on the lines of other space missions that have carried holy books such as the Bible.
“We have also added the name and photograph of the prime minister on the top panel with the words Atmanirbhar mission. This satellite has been completely developed and fabricated in India, including the electronics and circuitry,” she said.
According to media reports, on February 28, ISRO will be launching Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 as the main payload and 20 other satellites from Sriharikota at around 10:23 AM Sunday.
The launch of PSLV-C51 is the first dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Ltd, a Public Sector Unit under the Department of Space.
The 20 co-passenger satellites include one nanosatellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, four commercial satellites booked by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), and 15 satellites arranged by NSIL.
Among the four satellites launched via IN-SPACe are three UNITYsats from a consortium of three Indian academic institutes, and one from Space Kidz India.
