Pratham (satellite)

Pratham

Mission type	Ionospheric Technology
Operator	IIT Bombay
Website	Pratham, IIT Bombay Student Satellite Initiative
Mission duration	4 months
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	9.8 kilograms (22 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	TBD
Rocket	PSLV
Launch site	Satish Dhawan
Contractor	ISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth

Pratham is an Indian ionospheric research satellite which will be operated by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay as part of the Student Satellite Initiative. Its primary mission is to count electrons in the Earth's ionosphere.

The Pratham spacecraft is a cube with 26-centimetre (10 in) sides, and a mass of around 9.8 kilograms (22 lb). It was conceptualized by a team of students under the supervision of Professor K. Sudhakar. The satellite is currently under construction, and pre-launch testing is expected to begin in July 2010. will be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a secondary payload aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) flying from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Mission

'Pratham' has a Four-fold Mission Statement:

1. Enabling students and faculty to gain knowledge and experience in the field of Satellite and Space technology.
2. Empowering the Satellite Team with the skills to develop the Satellite through various phases of Design, Analysis, Fabrication and Testing until the Flight Model is made.
3. Launching the satellite into orbit and measuring Total Electron Count of the Ionosphere.
4. Involving students from other universities in our Satellite mission by building ground stations in their universities.

See also

• Jugnu (satellite)