Rocket built by students of Idukki engineering college to launch

In a remarkable initiative, the students of an engineering college in Idukki built a rocket on its own campus to study the climate pattern of Peerumade region. According to officials, Mar Baselios Christian College of Engineering and Technology (MBCCET) in Peerumade in Idukki built the rocket by using the materials available in the district. The official launch of the rocket will be held at the college campus on December 18 at 10.22 a.m.

Oommen Mammen, director of MBCCET, said that engineering college will be the first in India to completely design, assemble, as well as launch a rocket into the sky from within its campus. “The rocket has been built under a pilot project and it will be used to study the aerosol content study of the Peerumade hills. The rocket will gain an elevation of 1 km before being parachuted down. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other respective government departments has already permitted the rocket launch,” said Mr. Mammen.

ISRO assists

“The fuel for the rocket was purchased from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the other parts were locally purchased. The students built the rocket under the guidance of Oommen Tharakan K.T., a former scientist from the ISRO,” said the director.

According to officials, the rocket is 1 m in length and 2.5 kg in weight. “If the project is successful the college plans to build bigger rockets to study the weather in the area. A climate study is key to understand changes in the climate pattern, in the backdrop of the farming sector in Peerumade hills” said an official.

The rocket’s propulsion; guidance and control; as well as structural, avionic and payload deploying activities will be controlled from the ground station set up in the campus. “A fully arranged rocket launching pad has also been laid,” said officials.

A joint effort of students from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Sciences and Humanities is behind the rocket project, they said

The project will also commemorate the 25th founding anniversary of the college, they said.