Nearly eight years of hard work of 176 students of College of Engineering Pune (CoEP), put in to develop the ‘Swayam’ satellite, would get recognition on June 20 when the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will launch the satellite. The satellite is being launched along with ISRO’s satellite CartoSat-2C from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

As claimed by CoEP officials, Swayam was the first picosatellite developed by students in the country. It is since 2008 that students are working on the project on the campus on a corpus fund of Rs 50 lakh.

Students involved in the project said that the satellite weighs less than 1,000 grams and hence, is termed as Picosatellite. Also, since, the satellite aligns itself with the magnetic field on its own, hence termed as Swayam.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Director of CoEP, BB Ahuja said, “The satellite uses the magnetic field of the earth to stabilize the satellite after the launch. This technology is unique and will be used for the first time in the country.”

“The utility of the satellite will be to ensure that end-to-end communication is established even in the remotest of places,” says Ahuja.

The satellite has solar panels on all its six faces, which store charge in the lithium-ion battery, charging all the systems within the satellite. CoEP has also devised a noise cancellation software. Communication with the satellite would happen via Morse code. It would revolve six times around the earth a day. The satellite was ready in May 2015 but the launch date has been delayed.