An industrial visit to Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, the Spaceport of India was organized for the science stream students of K R Mangalam World School, Vikaspuri from 31st August 2022 to 2nd September 2022. The group of 43 students were accompanied by four senior faculty members.

The objective of the visit was to provide technical exposure to the students about Space Technology and advancements in space research. The visit not only provided a deep insight into the quality of research happening in the area of space technology in India but also gave great exposure to the students about the future career prospects and areas of research in applied sciences.

The trip included a visit to the longest beach in India and second longest urban beach in the world with sand spreading over 12 km, the famous Marina Beach of Chennai. The students explored the beach, admired its scenic beauty and enriched their cultural knowledge about Chennai as they saw stalls selling artifacts, handcrafted showpieces, ethnic jewelry and tasted Chennai-style Street food. The students engaged in another popular activity at the beach, pony riding.

After several security checks and administrative formalities, students were taken to the auditorium for an informative video about ISRO and India’s space research programme. The students then visited the nerve centre of SHAR, the Mission Launch Control Centre. The students gained insight into the roles and positions of the Mission Director, Assistant Director, Chairman of ISRO, etc. The students virtually witnessed the recent satellite, interacted with eminent scientist at ISRO learning about the launch vehicles ranging from ASLV, PSLV to GSLV to now, GSLV Mk III (chosen to launch Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft). The student’s zeal to learn was visible as they asked intriguing questions related to the working of the satellites during their question-answer round. It was an educationally enriching experience for KRMs budding astronauts and scientists who had an eager interest in learning about their country’s renowned Space Research Centre.

The students were then taken to the much-awaited destination i.e., the Launch Pads. They got a chance to physically see the two Launch pads at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR from where the rocket launching operations of PSLV and GSLV are carried out. Their structures, architecture and working were explained by the center’s expert faculty members. The student also visited the Chennai Rail Museum, VGP Universal Kingdom and Golden Beach.  

The industrial visit to ISRO was an enriching experience for the students in getting live exposure of Space Technology which can help them further their career enhancements. The students and faculty members enjoyed the technical endeavour, which was indeed a unique example of Future Readiness, one of the Signature Programme of KRMWS.