Designed and developed by the students and staff of IIT-Kanpur, India’s first IIT-made satellite Jugnu is stated to blast off with the highly proven four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket by September or October 2011 from Sriharikota. Operating at an altitude between 500 and 850 km in the sun synchronous orbit, Jugnu will help in studying vegetation and water bodies.

Two other nano satellites—10-kg SRMSat and 500-kg Indo-French Megha Tropiques—will accompany Jugnu to its destination. Built by the students and teachers of SRM University, Chennai, SRMsat will primarily help to study greenhouse gases. This will be the second Chennai-made satellite to be launched. The first one, Anusat, was launched in April 2009. The other Indo-French Megha Tropiques satellite, launched from Luxemburg, will undertake atmospheric studies.