VSSUT students developing satellite to study Hirakud dam

Sambalpur: Around 40 students and faculty from different engineering disciplines at VSS University of Technology (VSSUT) Space Development Programme are set to launch a satellite that would study the real time scenario of Hirakud dam.

They are all set to build, launch, test and recover indigenously developed reusable satellites and rocket. The team has decided to launch a satellite, which will study the real time scenario of Hirakud dam.

The rocket upon launching will reach a height of over 13000 ft in the sky and deploy the Can-satellite. The rocket will carry a Can Satellite (CanSat) payload of around 350 gms well equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The CanSat will transmit data to the ground station before it is retrieved for reuse.

Sources said while the rocket is ready, they are working on the CanSat.

The students will study the data about siltation, seepage and unscientific water distribution system, flood control, irrigation and hydel power generation.

The aim of this project is to provide a highly accurate data to the concerned authorities who can take necessary steps for the better upkeep of the dam.

The dynamic scanning system would provide the base station with the real-time raw data of the entire study area. The data collected will be analysed using software.

Notably, cracks developing in spillways and increasing deterioration of soil in the catchments are causing erosion of the subsoil, resulting in sedimentation and siltation.

Hirakud dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud reservoir, 55 km long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after Independence.