Launching of satellites delayed in absence of VC at NAST

Kathmandu, May 12: The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has developed two more satellites after the success of its first nanosatellite project.  

The NAST has completed development works of satellite preparations and testing process. 

The administrative process to launch the satellite has not moved ahead for the last four months, said Dr. Rabindra Dhakal, Chief of Faculty of the NAST.  

NAST has been without a Vice-Chancellor (VC) after the end of tenure of former VC Dr. Sunil Babu Shrestha that ended in mid-January this year.   

"We are in a ready position to move further steps to launch the satellites, but the absence of VC has halted the administrative process for four months now,” he said. 

A team of scientists led by Dr. Abhas Maskey, the first nano-satellite developer, developed the two satellites named Dafe and Munal in Nepal, which are three times larger than and similar in features and capacity to the previous one.  

In addition to Dr. Maskey, 10 high school students are engaged in building the satellites. 

NAST started the Dafe development project in 2022 and around two dozen of engineers were engaged in it under the space mission training.  

He added that the Dafe would be launched from Japan after the final model test was completed from Thailand. The NAST has collaborated with a Thai agency for this. The project is the continuity of the first satellite as per the plan to increase the capacity of Nepalis in the satellite sector, according to Dr. Maskey. 

As for the Munal, it was developed by nine students of three high schools. Under the supervision of the team of engineers who built the Dafe, the students developed another nano satellite called Munal, he informed. 

Developed in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Indian space agency, the Munal satellite will be launched in August if all the works are completed in time, he informed. 

It has been taken to the Ananya Technologies Pvt. Ltd in Bengaluru for test and final model will also be conducted from there before its launch.

"It is more of a research satellite than a commercial satellite, and the project will inspire Nepali youth towards space technology,” he said.

The development budget of Munal is about Rs. 20 million, and the necessary fund has been raised from donations. Nepalis living abroad have provided more funds for this project than the organisations, banks and other donor agencies. And Rs. 5 million pledged by donor agencies remains to be collected. 

On the other hand, the Rs. 10 million Dafe project of the NAST was developed with the support of a Thai agency. 

Dr. Maskey said that the vacant post of vice-chancellor has delayed the launching process of Dafe project due to cumbersome administrative paper works with the agency, but that Munal project would not be affected by it. 

According to Maskey, the satellite will provide weather information, including fire, flood, and water from the images captured by it, helping us in the weather forecast. 

Dr. Abhas Maskay and Hari Ram Shrestha developed the first tiny device. They were selected for a postgraduate study programme under the scholarship programme of Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech), Japan.