UNITYsat Space Mission by Indian students – Burning Issues

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UNITYsat, a space mission by Indian students to place 75 satellites around Earth

Developed by students from the Chandigarh University, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, IIT-Bombay, and 11 other institutions, these satellites have been designed to promote the Internet of Things (IoT) in space.
With private companies such as SpaceX, Amazon and One Web launching satellites to enhance connectivity across the world, India is not far behind.
A constellation of 75 satellites will be launched later this year to push the country forward in an emerging space race in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) region.
What’s so special about this constellation? These satellites are all conceptualised, designed, and developed by students from across India.
Named UNITYsat, the mission will mark the 75 years of India’s independence.
Developed by students from the Chandigarh University, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, IIT-Bombay, and 11 other institutions, these satellites have been designed to promote the Internet of Things (IoT) in space.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to this space mission during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2021.
PM Modi has said that on the occasion of 75 years of independence, India will send 75 satellites being created by Indian students in schools and colleges.
While the announcement of the student-led mission came in September, the planning has been well underway since 2020.

The Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) has joined hands with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to push these satellites into orbit in what will be the first experimental long-range inter-satellite and ground communication system to demonstrate IoT in space.
The mission will provide new insights into developing materials for testing and deployment of a constellation of satellites.
It will also demonstrate audio streaming and broadcasting from the Low Earth Orbit region when the constellation of satellites flies over India.
“It’s an IoT-based constellation that will target towards the behaviour of satellite interconnection in space and how inter-satellite communication can be achieved in a better way in the Low Earth Orbit.
The satellites will be forming a constellation and passing information among them and broadcasting the data down to Earth.
Just like SpaceX’s Starlink, it’s a constellation and is being developed together in tandem with institutions across the country

With the launch set to happen either weeks or days before the 75th Independence Day celebrations later this year, students, engineers and scientists working on the mission have defined the mission objectives, designed the structures, and have identified the payload that will be launched.
testing of the satellites is the only thing that remains to be done.
These tests include subjecting the satellites to a number of stress environments including acoustics, vibrations and launch challenges. These tests will be done at Isro facilities in the coming weeks and months.
The satellites will remain operational for a period of two to four years in the Low Earth orbit.

India has in the past launched over 50 satellites in a single mission and the student satellite constellation will be launched in a similar manner.
However, a decision on which rocket launcher will be used is yet to be taken. A meeting is likely to happen between Isro and institutions to finalise the launcher.

A decision on the final date also remains to be taken, which could be by the end of July or the first week of August.
There has been a growing clamour over rising junk in the Low Earth Orbit where hundreds and thousands of satellites have been parked since the 1950s.

Recently, the Chinese government informed the UNGA about possible collisions that were avoided between its under-construction space station and a SpaceX Starlink constellation.
With India putting these 75 satellites for a period of two to four years, there are concerns about adding junk into space.
“Research groups are working on removing debris from space and we are also working on developing material that can be automatically be disintegrated in space once the operational lifetime of the satellite is complete.
Two more research areas are also being explored, one to identify debris in space and the other to look for ways to catch them,”

According to NASA, debris in orbits below 600 kilometres will fall back to Earth within several years, but above 1,000 kilometres it will continue circling the Earth for a century or more.
Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency have partnered with start-ups to help with removal of space debris.

A low Earth orbit (LEO) is, as the name suggests, an orbit that is relatively close to Earth’s surface.
It is normally at an altitude of less than 1000 km but could be as low as 160 km above Earth – which is low compared to other orbits, but still very far above Earth’s surface.
By comparison, most commercial aeroplanes do not fly at altitudes much greater than approximately 14 km, so even the lowest LEO is more than ten times higher than that.