“Namaste World: From the G20 presidency.” This was the first message an 8-kg micro-satellite developed by 750 girl children of rural India sent at 9.43 am on Friday after reaching orbit.
AzaadiSAT was part of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) launch of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) that blasted off at 9.18 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
SSLV-D2 is ISRO’s second developmental flight after the first failed in August last year. D2 carried three satellites: ISRO's EOS-07, the US-based firm Antaris' Janus-1 and Chennai-based space start-up SpaceKidz's AzaadiSAT-2. The successful launch of SSLV-D2 is considered