IITK to launch India's first nano satellite, Jugnu: IITK is working together with ISRO(Indian Space Research Organization) to launch its first nano satellite, Jugnu, by mid of 2010. On 6th of March president of India handed over the Engineering Model to ISRO for testing to ISRO.The satellite will be launched into a polar orbit of 700 - 800 km altitude from Sriharikota by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Jugnu is 1 foot long, 10 cm wide and will weigh less than 3 kg. It is equipped with near IR(Infra Red) camera and will transmit images to a base station at the IITK campus. It will also broadcast a beacon signal that HAM operators all over the globe will be able to pick up. The stipulated life time of the satellite is around 12 months. The high-resolution pictures and the data obtained from the satellite will be used for various applications such as drought monitoring, wasteland management, urban planning and flood-risk management. The nano satellite is being developed by a team of 50 students led by Shantanu Agarwal (M.Tech, 2009 IITK) under the supervision of Prof. N. S. Vyas, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at IIT Kanpur. Dr. D.V.A. Raghava Murthy, Director, Small System Satellites at ISRO and his team are providing the necessary support for the success of this mission. According to Prof. Vyas the nano satellite will carry an indigenously developed imaging system, a GPS system and MEMS based inertial measuring unit as payloads. A ground station is being built at IIT Kanpur for monitoring its activities and for data communication.