Brac University’s nano-satellite to hit orbit in May

Brac Onnesha, the first nano-satellite of Bangladesh, is going to hit in low earth orbit soon in May this year.

Through this nano-satellite, Bangladesh will start its journey in the space era.

Three students of Brac University have developed “Brac Onnesha” recently while doing a course at Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) in Japan.  The nano-satellite was handed over to the authorities by the Japanese institution in February.

The setup of the ground station from where data to be received and transmitted from the nanosat is almost finished, said the students who are working on it.

READ MORE: Nanosat to be in orbit mid 2017

The antenna for communicating with the Brac Onnesha has been installed successfully a couple of days ago, they said.

"Brac Onnesha", a cube measuring 10cm along its edge and weighing around one kilogramme, will be launched into low earth orbit, at an altitude of around 410km, through Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The idea of making a satellite first came up in 2013 and it took four years to develop.

Three Brac students -- Abdulla Hil Kafi, Raihana Shams Islam Antara and Maisun Ibn Monowar – mainly developed the nanosat in Japan. They are now pursuing postgraduate degrees on applied science for integrated system engineering at KIT.

The six students are: Md Mojammel Haque Shourobh, Sananda Jagati Chayan, Arafat Haque, Aynul Huda, Bijoy Talukder and Jamil Arifin.

ALSO READ: Brac University says ‘hi’ to first nano-satellite

The project has been developed only to be used for academic and research-based works, said Khalilur Rahman, an associate professor of the university's Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department of the Brac University.

When it will be put in low earth orbit, it will play our national anthem “Amar Sonar Bangla”. School children will be encouraged when they listen to the song, he told The Daily Star in an interview.