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The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has commenced work on its own space programme, which has been approved by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) under the Department of Space. The ambitious project involves the development of the ‘SS AMU SAT’, named after the university’s founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

The SS AMU SAT is a Nanosatellite Project initiated in November 2021 by the AMU Robo Club. It is a 3U CubeSat with multiple objectives. One of the primary goals is to study the economic growth in India’s poorest districts using satellite imagery. Additionally, the project aims to implement an in-house developed image compression technology for faster multimedia transmission. The satellite will also serve as a testing ground for various satellite sub-systems that have been built in-house.

The project was submitted to IN-SPACe in January 2023 for approval, registration, frequency allocation, and launch. The design was reviewed by the Student Satellite Committee, chaired by Dr. P.K. Jain, Director (PMAD) of IN-SPACe, in September 2023. The proposal was approved with the condition that AMU signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IN-SPACe to cover all activities from the development of the SS AMU SAT to its launch into the Lower Earth Orbit.

The project is being led by Poorti Varshney and mentored by Dr. C. A. Prabhakar (Former Project Director, ISRO) and Faraz Ahmad (a 2013 batch alumnus). The development of the project has received technical support from AMU alumni working with ISRO and experts from various industries worldwide.

The tentative timeline for the launch of the SS AMU SAT is within the next six months. Aligarh Muslim University’s foray into space technology demonstrates its commitment to scientific research and technological advancements.

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