Mission JUGNU

Times of India – October 13, 2011

It was a historic moment when Jugnu, a nano-satellite, developed by the students of for IIT Kanpur under the guidance of Prof. N. S. Vyas, was successfully launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 12th October, 2011. For the first time in its history of nano-satellite launching, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used the indigenously built separation mechanism (ejection system) designed by IIT-Kanpur to release “Jugnu” into space. At 11 am, ISRO scientists and the team which developed Jugnu erupted in joy as the satellite was launched; their joy knew no bounds when Jugnu gave its first radio signal at 12.48 pm. Jugnu's first beacon blinking signal was recorded by Israel. After this, ISRO's satellite tracking and command network in Bangalore tracked Jugnu and received the radio signals. The ground station for Jugnu has been established on the 6th floor of the faculty building of IIT Kanpur. Jugnu will pass over Kanpur five times a day and will be visible to the ground station for 5 – 8 minutes. During this interval, it will send signals to the ground station. The satellite carries an infrared camera, a GPS system and a MEMS based  Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to provide information on vegetation and water bodies on the ground and atmospheric vibrations. It will also provide its own health data. Jugnu is expected to remain in orbit for about a year. A team of ten students will monitor the satellite from the ground station.

IIT Kanpur with its Nano Satellite Mission- Jugnu scaled new highs in the space research. A team of students working under the guidance of faculty members of the institute and scientists of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched India’s first Nano Satellite. The mission hoped to serve the nation by providing indigenous miniaturized technologies for the future space missions. Moreover it aimed at providing real-life design and development experience of actual space systems to students.
Weighing less than 3 Kg (10 cm x 10 cm x 32 cm in size) with most functionalities of a normal satellite on a small platform, the payload of the satellite included an indigenously designed camera for near IR remote sensing, a GPS receiver and an Inertial Measurement Unit. ‘Jugnu’ transmited a ‘Beacon’ - blinking signal, at all times - all over the earth. Amateur frequency bands were used for communication and the ‘Beacon’ was tracked by amateur HAM community, all over the world, for more than two years.

This activity coincided with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of IIT Kanpur. Jugnu was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). After its launch, Jugnu was continuously monitored and controlled by Ground Station located on the campus.

The satellite comprised nine subsystems - six for housekeeping (Attitude Determination and Control System, Communication, Data Processing and Handling, Power, Structure and Thermal Control System) and three payloads (GPS, Imaging and IMU). Additionally, another system - Ejection Mechanism, was designed for the separation of the satellite from the launch vehicle. The Ground Station for control and monitoring the satellite was set up at IIT Kanpur. The telemetry data (for Health Monitoring) collected for all the subsystems at Ground Station validated the performance of the sensors and the miniaturized technology in the satellite subsystems. Experiments related to payloads - GPS, Imaging and IMU demonstrated the performance of the hardware and algorithms used in their design. Images collected were to be useful in studying the vegetation and the water bodies.

The satellite design was mostly indigenous. Some non- space grade commercial- off- the- shelf (COTS) components are used to keep the cost low. Unlike conventional satellites, which have large number of redundant systems, Jugnu had minimal redundancies at component level. Some redundancies were maintained at the functional level and efforts were made to achieve single point failure tolerant design for the satellite.
Most of the performance tests for the subsystems of satellite were carried out in the institute itself, using existing infrastructure. However, launch critical tests were carried out at ISRO centers. Two models of the satellite were built – Qualification Model and Flight model. Fabrication of both the models comprised exactly similar material and procedures. Integration with the PSLV clearance tests was done only on the Qualification Model. These tests consisted of Thermo Vacuum, Vibration and Radiation tests.  The Flight Model was subjected to minimal tests. Satisfactory performance of the Qualification Model gave the green signal to the Flight Model for the launch.

Over a one year period, the project team comprising faculty members from different departments, students - from first year undergraduates to final year postgraduates drawn from different disciplines, project associates and institute staff were engaged in accomplishing this challenging exercise.

The aim of this mission does not end with making a Nano Satellite – the objective is to develop a long term infrastructure and human resources in the country for future space research programs in collaboration with ISRO.