Shyam Balasubramanian | ENS HEAR the word `satellite' and you would probably picture a huge hunk of hi-tech metal, wires and solar panels hurtling around in space. But the growing trend of fabricating and putting satellites into orbit by non-spacefaring countries, corporations and even universities has come thanks to the advantages offered by small satellites, according to the director of the ISRO satellite Centre, Dr T K Alex. "Small satellites are relatively inexpensive. This eases the burden of risk upon corporations and universities, prompting them to send up experimental satellites. It also makes it cheaper for them when we send these small satellites piggybacking on larger satellite launches," said Alex at a space summit held as part of the 98th Indian Science Congress. "Space technology used to be high technology that was on a pedestal and out of reach for most. Now, thanks to small satellites, it has come down for widespread use," he noted. Any satellite weighing less than 1,000 kg is a small one, the biggies are around 6,000 kg, those less than 500 kg are micro-satellites, and the under-100 kg ones are called nanosatellites. "Not only do they cost less, but the reduced risk levels allow universities to fabricate satellites on their own," Alex said. "ANUSAT, which weighed 10 kg and built by the Anna University, and SRMSAT, a 100 kg satellite, are examples of this phenomenon," he added. ISRO has already put in orbit ANUSAT and EDUSAT, which was jointly built by colleges in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. SRM's micro satellite would be launched this year aboard a PSLV, he added. Adding to a view of an earlier speaker on India's need for more satellites to bolster its capabilities on all fronts, Alex noted that constellations and clusters of small satellites would be the best fit for India's space needs.