-Subhanu Acharya
Kathmandu, August 10 : The ground station installed by Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in its premises at Khumaltar, Lalitpur has failed to receive information yet from the first Nepali nano-satellite, Nepali Sat-1, due to technical glitches. The ground station was built to receive the image signals and other information to be sent by the Nepali Sat-1 that was launched into orbit on April 18, 2019 from the USA.
The inability to obtain the information from the Nepali Sat-1 owes to various reasons such as radio signals not matching the frequencies, old model of radio needed for obtaining and sending the information, no more manufacture of old model of radio equipment among others, informed NAST’s spokesperson Suresh Kumar Dhungel.
The 1.3 kilogramme Nepali nano-satellite assembled by two Nepali engineers was launched into orbit together with Sri Lanka’s ‘Ravan 1’ and Japan’s Ubishu. The three nano-sattelite measured 1,000 cubic centimeters in volume and 4.5 kilogrammes in weight. NAST’s Chief of Faculty of Technology, Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, shared, “NAST is currently buying its time to procure appropriate model of radio equipment from African countries. We are coordinating efforts with other member countries such as Bhutan, Japan and Bangladesh among others to obtain information provided by the Nepali Sat-1.”
The solar-powered Nepali Sat-1 has a camera with 5 megapixel capacity and has life span of three years. It takes Nepali Sat-1 around 90 minutes to orbit the Earth during which it takes pictures of the natural phenomena and sends them to ground station. Avash Maskey and Hari Ram Shrestha were involved in the construction of the nano-satellite at Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) University in Japan under the Birds-3 project. The Kyutech University had supported in the construction of Nepali Sat-1 at subsidized cost. RSS
