WESAT; Women's strength in space, launching January 1st

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A historic moment looms as India's Poojapura LBS Women's Engineering College gears up for the launch of WESAT, the country's inaugural satellite engineered by a women's association. Spearheaded by 150 diligent students from the College Space Club this satellite project slated to ride aboard ISRO's PSLV-C58 rocket marks the culmination of five years of unwavering dedication and effort.

The primary aim of WESAT, crafted at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is to gauge ultraviolet (UV) ray concentrations at an altitude of 350 km above Earth's surface. This groundbreaking endeavour seeks to unravel the impact of UV rays on the ozone layer and their implications for climate change research. Once in orbit for six months, the satellite will collect crucial data to be analyzed at VSSC.

Scheduled to take off on New Year's morning at 9:10 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, this launch marks ISRO's milestone 60th PSLV mission. Accompanying WESAT are nine Kunjan satellites forming part of ISRO's Exosat mission.

The brainchild of Electronics and Computer Science alumni from the 2018-19 batch, WESAT's design was meticulously crafted through ceaseless efforts, extensive research from various sources and a tireless day-and-night pursuit of excellence.

This ambitious venture received financial support totalling 21.4 lakhs from the Department of Science and Technology and the Startup Mission. Moreover, collaboration was fostered through over twenty meetings with ISRO, VSSC and in-space officials culminating in the recent transport of WESAT to Sriharikota. The satellite weighs a mere one and a half kilograms. Leading the way for 30 students to witness this historic moment is Lizzie Abraham, an esteemed faculty member from the Electronics department.