Millions of illiterate people in remote, rural India could soon have access to an education, as a satellite devoted exclusively to long distance learning was launched on Monday. It is the world鈥檚 first dedicated educational satellite, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
India launched the $20 million, 2-tonne EDUSAT from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal. The satellite is the heaviest ever launched by an Indian-made rocket 鈥� the new Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which cost $33 million.
About 35% of the country鈥檚 billion-plus population are illiterate, a 2001 government census showed. 鈥淚ndia will require 10,000 new schools each year and meeting the teaching needs on such a scale [by conventional methods] will be impossible,鈥� Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO, told New 杏吧原创.
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To date, India has used both of its multi-purpose INSAT satellites to provide long-distance education information alongside their telecommunications, broadcasting and weather-forecasting functions.
Virtual classrooms
But EDUSAT鈥檚 dedicated function will substantially improve the service provided. It will use the virtual classroom concept to offer education to children in remote villages, quality higher education to students in areas without access to good technical institutes, adult literacy programmes and training modules for teachers.
鈥淚t is a unique mission and we are happy to have achieved it,鈥� Nair says. H P Dixit, vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi Open University, added: 鈥淚t will revolutionise education in our country.鈥�
EDUSAT carries six KU-band transponders and six extended C-band transponders. All but one of the KU-band transponders will be dedicated to specific regions of India, while the rest of the transponders will provide blanket coverage for the country.
The satellite will utilise an antenna with a 1.2-metre reflector to direct the KU-band spot beams towards their intended regions. This will enable information to be broadcast in relevant local languages 鈥� India has 18 official languages and over 400 dialects. The educational programmes can be viewed on any television set through a simple low-cost receiver costing about $65, Nair says.
Operational phases
Once EDUSAT is commissioned in two months鈥� time it will initially provide one satellite link per beam, with each link catering for up to 200 classrooms. When fully operational, 25 to 30 satellite links will broadcast to about 5000 remote terminals.
Monday鈥檚 launch marks several firsts for India鈥檚 space programme, says Nair. EDUSAT is India鈥檚 first satellite dedicated for education. Others being planned include AGRISAT, to address the country鈥檚 agricultural needs, and HEALTHSAT, for providing telemedicine services.
It is also GSLV鈥檚 first operational flight. India will no longer depend on Europe鈥檚 Ariane rockets to launch satellites of up to 2 tonnes, though it will continue to use them for heavier spacecraft.