BITS Hyderabad has forayed into space technology research by forging an alliance with space engineering company Dhruva Space. The duo has established Dhruva Space Research and Development Centre for Satellite Communication Technologies. “Several academic institutions in the country and abroad have been developing small satellites carrying communication payloads. However, the data transmission rates are usually limited to a few kbps (kilobits per second),” a BITS statement said.
“The earth station established as part of the agreement with Dhruva Space will not only support data rates in the order of Mbps (megabits per second) but also pave way for testing newer technologies in the satellite communications,” it said. “The Hyderabad Campus is looking forward to contributing to the R&D in the space tech sector and to the space economy with such collaboration,” G Sundar, Director of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, said.
“India’s efforts in building the space technology ecosystem have expedited with opening up of the sector to private players. Research and Development is the need of the hour in ensuring efficiency and economically viable solutions for the increasing reliance on space resources,” Krishna Teja, Co-Founder of Dhruva Space, said.