From a University in Assam to the Stars
When you picture a satellite being built, you might imagine a sprawling, high-security government facility. You probably don't picture a university campus in Assam. Yet, that's exactly where a piece of Indian space history is just about to be made. A team of students and faculty at Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU) have successfully designed, built, and will launch LACHIT-1 (Live Amateur Communication Hub for Innovative Technologies – One), the very first satellite from India's entire Northeast region.
The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) of ADBU, is pleased to highlight the achievement of two of its B.Tech. fourth-semester students—Mr. Herric Cleven Kurbah of Meghalaya and Ms. W. Jolly Singha of Silchar—who were members of the successful student group. Dr. Pushpanjalee Konwar, Head of the Department, remarked, “Their achievement reflects the dedication, talent, and steadily advancing academic excellence of our EEE students. We are delighted by their success and take great pride in their accomplishments.”
LACHIT-1 is more than just a successful science project; it's a landmark achievement that has put an entire region on the nation's space map. The mission, which will be launched aboard ISRO's famously reliable PSLV- DL-C62 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 10:17 am IST on 12 January 2026, as part of a larger commercial mission called Dhruva Space's Polar Access-1 (PA-1), marks a new era of decentralized innovation.
1. A Historic First: Putting an Entire Region on the Space Map
It’s more than a satellite; it’s a symbol of regional pride.
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To honor this milestone, the satellite is named after the revered 17th-century Ahom general, Lachit Borphukan. The name serves as a bridge, connecting the region's celebrated historical legacy of leadership with its ambitious future in space technology.
LACHIT-1 represents the Northeast’s intent to contribute meaningfully to India’s space ecosystem and underlines the role academic institutions can play by combining rigorous learning with real-world application to nurture future-ready scientists and engineers.
2. The Mission: A "Cosmic Mailbox" That Could Save Lives
Its core function is simple, but its application is powerful.
The satellite's primary function is to demonstrate a "store-and-forward" communication system. You can think of it as a "cosmic mailbox." It can receive a short message from a ground station, store it onboard as it orbits the Earth, and then relay that message back down when it passes over another location.
This technology has a critical potential application that could be a lifeline for the region. In emergency scenarios like floods or landslides, where conventional communication networks are often disrupted, LACHIT-1 could serve as a vital backup link for emergency responders to send and receive essential information.
Operating on amateur radio frequencies, the satellite is also an open platform for a global community of licensed operators. To ensure the mission creates a lasting legacy, Dhruva Space, in collaboration with the National Institute of Amateur Radio and ADBU, will conduct training programmes focused on using amateur satellites for disaster communication and emergency response, turning this single achievement into a sustainable educational platform.
Projects like LACHIT-1 are a perfect example of education in action. According to Fr. (Dr) Jose Palely, Vice-Chancellor of ADBU, the mission showcases how academic institutions can combine "rigorous learning with real-world application to nurture future-ready scientists and engineers."
3. The Makers: A Dream Team of Students, Mentors, and National Heroes
This wasn't built in isolation—it was a masterclass in collaboration.
The LACHIT-1 mission was driven by the collaborative energy of over 50 students and faculty from Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU), with members from across the Northeast, including Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur. This team effort was made possible by a sophisticated public-private synergy that is becoming a force multiplier for India's space ambitions.
This modern space ecosystem functions as a clear, repeatable pathway to orbit:
- The Students of ADBU: They were the core team at the heart of the project. As part of Dhruva Space’s ASTRA (Accelerated Space Technology Readiness & Access) for Academia program, they designed, built, and meticulously tested the satellite, gaining invaluable hands-on experience.
- Dhruva Space (The Private Enabler): Acting as the "general contractor," the Hyderabad-based "full-stack" space infrastructure company provided the end-to-end support that made the project feasible. They supplied the core P-DoT satellite platform, the DSOD-1U system to deploy it from the rocket, and established the VHF/UHF ground station on the ADBU campus—complete with their Integrated Space Operations Command Suite (ISOCS) software—to operate the mission.
- IN-SPACe (The Regulatory Gatekeeper): The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre provided the official authorization, acting as the single-window "rule-keeper" for private sector space activities.
- NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) (The Commercial Gateway): As ISRO's commercial arm, NSIL served as the "booking agent," procuring the launch service and enabling private missions like LACHIT-1 to fly on national assets.
- ISRO (The Heavy-Lifting Muscle): The Indian Space Research Organisation provided the powerful and proven PSLV-C62 rocket, the heavy-lifting muscle that carried LACHIT-1 and the aspirations of its creators safely to orbit.
4. The Blueprint: Proving Great Ideas Can Come from Anywhere
The LACHIT-1 mission created a repeatable recipe for success.
This mission serves as a powerful blueprint for the democratization of space, proving how other universities and regions can actively participate in high-end technology development. By successfully taking a satellite from a university campus to orbit, the project proves that world-class innovation is not limited to traditional technology hubs.
This achievement validates a full-stack commercial model that helps decentralize India's space ecosystem, tapping into a wider national talent pool and empowering new regional hubs. It is a tangible demonstration that, as Dhruva Space Director Avinash Maramraju stated, "... advanced space capabilities are no longer confined to a few locations."
LACHIT-1: A Small Satellite's Giant Leap
LACHIT-1 is far more than just a piece of hardware circling the globe. It is a "classroom in the sky" that has given dozens of students invaluable real-world experience, nurturing a new generation of scientists and engineers. It is also a powerful symbol of a new, more inclusive, and collaborative era in India's space journey.
The successful launch is not an end, but a beginning. It proves a pathway for academic institutions everywhere to turn ambitious ideas into orbiting realities, validating a scalable model for public-private synergy. With the path now proven, what new corner of India will be the next to reach for the stars?
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Written by Jesif Ahmed.