University's New Space Centre Aims To Boost India's Space Ambition, Launch Satellite By 2021

Learning about space is surely something many aspire to do, after all who doesn't want to be an astronaut or help humanity conquer the final frontier of space?

The desire may be there, but not many institutions in India have the necessary resources to advance space research in a way that it's truly democratized.

LPU

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However, now, Lovely Professional University has announced the set up a Centre for Space Research with Mission Control Facility that would allow students and researchers to communicate with the International Space Station, download satellite images in real-time as well as receive data from nanosatellites and other spacecraft.

We wanted to learn more about what LPU has planned with this new facility, so we had a conversation with Dr G. Geetha, professor and Head of Division of Research and Development at LPU.

The purpose of building this facility

We were curious to know why a university wishes to set up such a facility, to which Dr Geetha revealed, ¡°This centre is for carrying out focused research projects in the area space technology with specific deliverables of environmental/economic impacts. This facility will not only act as a resource for LPU but also as a virtual lab for universities, colleges, schools in India and neighbouring countries. The centre will also carry out awareness programs related to space research and remote sensing.

Training students to be space-ready

Dr Geetha revealed the kind of training students would undergo at the LPU Centre for Space Research, stating, ¡°Starting from the installation of the ground station, HAM installation, satellite tracking till data set collection, each step is defined systematically. The whole training has 6 different modules.¡±

She added, ¡°The main objective of the program is to train the next generation of engineers, to meet future research and development challenges in the area of space research. These include technical and professional development, training and presenting their scientific work. The research projects would be used for future space missions.¡±

Representative Image: GIZMAG

LPUSAT-1

Along with this, LPU is working on launching its own satellite in space which is scheduled to blast off in 2021. Dr Geetha shared some information about the satellite, stating, ¡°The LPUSAT-1 is of the composite structure and it was presented in 70th IAC held at Washington DC, USA. Currently, we are working on multiple projects to check the feasibility; namely space debris mapping and quantum key distribution (QKD) communication.¡±

Career in space

Dr Geetha tried to give us a rough idea about what one should consider focusing on, if they¡¯re wanting to make their career in space. She said, ¡°Career in Space Science and technology broadly includes astronomy and astrophysics, atmospheres and aeronomy, earth sciences, and solar system studies, Satellite data management and processing, AI in space applications, building space grade hardware¡¯s etc.¡±

She added, ¡°It offers a plethora of career opportunities today but does not limit to astronomers, atmospheric scientists, plasma physicists, computer hardware engineers, aerospace engineers, electrical and electronics engineers, mechanical engineers, avionics technicians etc.

Those who want to become Space Scientist must develop an aptitude towards Physics and Mathematics. One should possess relevant education in pure science or in engineering disciplines to become a space scientist.¡±

Talking about jobs in the field of space, she said, ¡°There are various job opportunities that exist in public and private organizations like ISRO, DRDO, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), NASA, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) etc. Interested people can also join the teaching profession after the accomplishment of pre-requisite qualification.¡±

ISRO

Helping India and ISRO¡¯s space endeavours

Dr Geetha revealed what LPU¡¯s space research centre plans to achieve, stating, ¡°LPU¡¯s Centre for space research is closely related to Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) program of ISRO. This area has become an internationally significant area due to the ever-growing manmade space debris and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft in space.¡±

She added, ¡°The space research centre will provide applications to various users in the area of navigation, remote sensing, metrology, space science and navigation. Many industries, private and government schools are also supporting in realizing standard satellite hardware and software.¡±

¡°Our ultimate motive is to infuse interest in students and equip LPU-Students with space data and open a field of research in Satellites. Satellite Tracking System, Satellite Tracking and Data Acquisition, Antenna Designing and Simulation, Software and hardware realization for space research, Laser/optical lab for futuristic Communication Systems, Quantum communication etc will be actively considered,¡± she concluded.