This story is from July 26, 2016

Students meet team Swayam, explore space tech

As many as 40 students and educators from Times NIE member schools attended an exclusive interaction with team Swayam at College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP), marking the successful launch of satellite ‘Swayam' built by the pupils of the institution.
Students meet team Swayam, explore space tech
Pune: As many as 40 students and educators from Times NIE member schools attended an exclusive interaction with team Swayam at College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP), marking the successful launch of satellite ‘Swayam' built by the pupils of the institution.
Times NIE had organised the event recently to offer an interactive platform to youngsters to facilitate exchange of ideas.
It included a virtual tour for the students — right from the conceptualisation stage to the time of the satellite's launch.
Project head Manisha Khaladkar gave an overview of the project. She said a group of students from the astronomy club of the college had thought of designing a satellite in 2008 while working with the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai. The project had thus been worked upon by many batches thereafter. It was a collaborative effort of over 176 students from different engineering disciplines over the years.
While addressing the students, project manager Umair Jaimi said, "The satellite enables communication between two remote points." Tanaya Kolankari from the team presented the classification of satellites and described the types of rockets used for launching satellites.
Deep Machchar explained the technical aspects of the project. He explained the design and sub-systems in the satellite while giving an overview about the challenges in stabilising the satellite and keeping the electronic components intact at extreme temperatures in space. "The satellite has a revolution period of 90 minutes and passes over the ground station in CoEP over four times in a day," he said. The other members present from the Swayam team were Tanmay Gajare, Shubham Pisal and Akanksha Gadagkar.

Hemanth Krishna of standard X from Amanora School termed it "an impressive project". "The presentation was really informative. The interaction with team Swayam has inspired me to think at an altogether different level," he said.
Students were later taken to the fabrication laboratory where the satellite was built and readings are being recorded. Various communication components were also shown.
"The presentation was really inspiring and informative. It is also a field that students can consider for career opportunities. We learnt a lot more than what we had read or googled, so far", said Jaymala Kodhe, maths and science teacher from Pawar Public School.
The Swayam team said they would soon be ready with a new satellite model using a technology that has never been used before in the country. "The initiative taken by the students is commendable. The session was excellent and very informative. I wish to attend similar sessions in the future", said Nihar Ahire of Std IX from City Pride School. A question answer session followed the presentation.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA