How an Indian start-up sparked a global girls’ space mission

If there’s 1 happening that keeps Dr. Srimathy Kesan going, it is her “unwavering tendency to make a level for girls who are funny astir abstraction exploration and heavy tech”.

The CEO and laminitis of Space Kidz India, a Chennai-based aerospace and defence start-up pioneering successful the motorboat of tiny satellites and spacecraft, is each smiles arsenic she talks astir Mission ShakthiSAT — the first-ever female-led lunar outer mission, supported by ISRO, IN-SPACe, and the UK-based Meridian Space Command.

Developed with a fund of ₹150 crore, the ngo aims to bid 12,000 girls from authorities schools successful India and crossed 108 countries. The programme offers 120 hours of online grooming for students aged 14 to 18, with a absorption connected payload development, abstraction technology, and spacecraft systems.

The ngo was officially launched connected January 16, 2025.

ShakthiSAT’s imaginativeness is not conscionable astir method goals; it represents empowerment, innovation, and inclusivity.

“There’s a story that rockets and satellites are predominantly for boys, and girls were discouraged from coming into this heavy tech manufacture for ages,” Srimathy says.

“We request much women successful this industry. Given an opportunity, women volition excel, and determination volition beryllium fantastic things that travel retired for humanity.”

Global mission

The motorboat of AzaadiSAT — an 8U Cubesat built by 750 miss students from agrarian India — by Space Kidz India, successful relation with ISRO (in August 2022), marked an effort to span the sex spread successful the abstraction ecosystem and marque abstraction subject accessible for much girls.

Though the ngo was unsuccessful, failing to scope the Lower Earth Orbit, its successor AzaadiSAT-2 was successfully launched successful the pursuing year, a important milestone for the student-led outer project.

The occurrence of the 2nd ngo made Srimathy ponder: wherefore marque the adjacent ngo conscionable for Indian girls? That thought led to collaborations with 108 countries, including the UK, Brazil, Mexico, the UAE, Argentina, and immoderate African countries joining the list.

“I thought this was the close clip to standard it globally, and the effect was tremendous, arsenic if they were waiting for thing similar this,” Srimathy says with joy.

To instrumentality the ngo forward, women ambassadors, who person made strides successful the abstraction and STEM fields, were selected to beforehand the mission’s extremity successful schools successful their respective countries.

Despite the stringent timeline, a broad program consisting of 21 modules — touching upon what is abstraction to propulsion information applicable for outer oregon spacecraft improvement — was designed.

“We had astir 20 professors from crossed the globe to hole the curriculum, which is present disposable successful English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hindi and Tamil,” she adds.

Workshop and online training

For seamless sessions, students were fixed online grooming connected the ZOHO platform.

“We posted the program connected their Learning Management System, onboarded students and gave them entree to the survey materials. We besides provided them with videos successful their respective languages to recognize analyzable topics,” Srimathy says.

Tiya Jerath, a people XI pupil from Punjab, is each excited for the mission. She, on with 20 different girls successful the class, has been grooming since August 2025.

“In the modules, the archetypal conception is divided into 4 parts — science, technology, engineering and mathematics, followed by activities and quizzes,” says the 15-year-old who wants to physique a spacecraft erstwhile she grows up. Another student, Frida Oyana Edu’s introduction to the mission, arsenic she says, was “totally unexpected.”

The Equatorial New Guinea miss was ne'er passionate astir abstraction oregon science, but during the people of the training, she realised what her existent calling was.

“It was truly hard to spell done the modules due to the fact that it was afloat online grooming and was not similar a carnal situation wherever I could inquire the prof questions, but that has allowed maine to amended my probe skills,” she says.

For Sabine Manriquez from Mexico, acceptance to the programme was a imagination travel true. The 16-year-old pupil discovered Mission ShakthiSat done the societal media of Mexico’s Ambassador Dafne Reyes.

“She called connected young girls to use to the programme, and I decided to participate,” says Sabine, who has passed retired of precocious school.

And here’s the cherry connected top: astatine the extremity of 21 modules, 1 pupil from each country, on with the ambassador, volition question to India connected August 22 this year.

They volition beryllium gathering 2 satellites with Space Kidz students — 1 for Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) successful collaboration with ISRO’s PSLV oregon SSLV, eyeing a motorboat connected October 11, 2026, and the different for a lunar ngo successful concern with ispace, a Japan-based lunar exploration company, planned for 2027.

“I person learnt astir the process of plan and improvement of CubeSats and the antithetic subsystems that constitute them,” she says.

“If selected to travel to India, I volition beryllium looking guardant to gathering girls from each astir the satellite who stock the aforesaid passionateness for abstraction exploration, and I americium besides excited for the accidental to summation hands-on acquisition by gathering a CubeSat,” a thrilled Sabine adds.

Payload development

When students from 108 countries travel to India, they volition beryllium divided into 4 teams gathering 4 payloads, which volition beryllium integrated into an 8U Satellite — a high-performance CubeSat platform.

A 15 to 16kg payload volition beryllium launched into LEO done a outer autobus developed by the Space Kidz team.

“We are interacting with universities successful Europe, Australia, and North America,” Srimathy says.

Payloads volition beryllium integrated with an ADCS (Attitude Determination and Control System) — an onboard strategy controlling a satellite’s predisposition successful abstraction — that points towards the Earth, radiation sensors, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) device.

“We are readying to beforehand the outer connection from the Ultra High Frequency crockery to the S-band frequency,” she adds.

S-band signals are little susceptible to atmospheric attenuations (reduction successful the airy and vigor signals owed to particles contiguous successful the atmosphere), allowing reliable connection for satellites.

The crushed presumption volition pass with the satellite, and the information received volition beryllium disseminated to each 108 countries, enabling students to behaviour experiments and analysis.

“For the lunar probe, we are going to support it arsenic elemental arsenic possible. We volition beryllium launching a caller outer done ispace’s lander, which volition transportation a miss mascot, having the names of the children and radical who donate to america for this mission.”

A greater vision

Srimathy’s introduction to the tract of abstraction probe was not planned, but a sojourn to NASA proved transformative erstwhile she realised the request to bring younker and mentor them done a level that unlocks their potential. She believes this vision, realised done Mission ShaktiSAT, volition person a far-reaching interaction connected India’s abstraction ecosystem.

By bringing successful astir 300 students, the ngo is expected to boost the economic, tourism, and acquisition sectors.

“India is 1 of the astir welcoming countries to travel and motorboat a satellite, with nary restrictive barriers. The students volition acquisition the civilization and development. What amended word-of-mouth bash we need?” Srimathy asks with a hint of pridefulness successful her voice.

Additionally, the programme volition fortify acquisition ties, with immoderate countries already committing to scholarships for girls to survey successful India. “The High Commission from Mozambique and Eswatini person promised 2 girls from the ngo scholarships to travel to India to study,” she says.

Srimathy says, “More than anything, I deliberation the girls volition beryllium instilled with hope, courage, and knowing of heavy tech during the people of the mission. They request to person perseverance.”

Mission ShakthiSAT is conscionable the opening — the opening of a planetary question for girls who dared to imagination big.