Anna University built ANUSAT, the first satellite made by an Indian university, and ISRO put it into orbit on 20 April 2009 aboard PSLV-C12 alongside RISAT-2. The 40 kg microsatellite was built under ISRO’s overall guidance to demonstrate store-and-forward messaging from orbit, at about 550 km with a 90-minute orbit, according to ISRO’s ANUSAT page.
Most of that work came out of the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) in Chromepet, the university’s aerospace campus. MIT was set up in 1949 by C. Rajam, and its aeronautical engineering department dates from the same year, says the MIT website. It merged into Anna University in 1978. Here is what the campus does in space and aerospace today, and where students and the public fit in.
ANUSAT and the student satellites that followed
ANUSAT opened the door for other colleges. ISRO’s student satellite list runs to 13 craft launched by PSLV between 2009 and 2022. Two more of them came from Chennai:
| Satellite | Launch | Rocket |
|---|---|---|
| ANUSAT (Anna University) | 20 April 2009 | PSLV-C12 |
| SRMSat | 12 October 2011 | PSLV-C18 |
| SATHYABAMASAT (Sathyabama University) | 22 June 2016 | PSLV-C34 |
SATHYABAMASAT weighed 1.5 kg and was built to gather data on greenhouse gases including water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane, ISRO’s mission page says. ANUSAT itself is described on the Anna University website as the first microsatellite launched by an educational institution.
The Centre for Aerospace Research
The Centre for Aerospace Research (CASR) on the MIT campus is now the university’s main space and flight research unit. Its website lists these milestones:
- ANUSAT. CASR’s page dates it to 2002, which is when the project began, not the 2009 launch.
- A high-temperature material characterisation centre, in 2004.
- The Dr. Kalam Advanced UAV Research Centre, in 2019.
- A remote pilot training organisation for drones, in 2021.
- The Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation, formed by the state with the UAV centre, in 2022.
CASR’s director is Dr. K. Senthil Kumar. The university also hosts an Institute of Remote Sensing, a national facility listed on its website.
From satellites to drones
In recent years the campus has become better known for drones than for satellites. The Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation was inaugurated by the Chief Minister at Anna University, Guindy on 25 January 2022, according to the corporation. It sells drones and drone services for farm spraying, mapping, surveillance, rescue and inspection. Its office is in the SIDCO estate at Guindy.
For residents, the most practical link is drone pilot training. The CASR Remote Pilot Training Organisation describes itself as India’s first remote pilot training organisation approved by the DGCA under the drone rules of 2021:
- A 10-day course covering theory, ground training, a simulator and actual flying.
- Small and medium drone categories, plus a train-the-trainer course.
- Open to anyone aged 18 or above who has passed Class 10.
- The remote pilot certificate is valid for up to 10 years.
- Held at CASR, MIT Campus, Chromepet, Chennai 600 044, with accommodation and food available next door.
The corporation’s featured farm drone carries a 14-litre spray tank and flies for up to 45 minutes, and the corporation claims it can cover up to 10 acres an hour. It says it has more than ten drone types ready for farming, surveillance, mapping and transport, and offers consultancy on the commercial, safety, legal and technical sides of drone use.
Contact the training unit at 90435 05361 or admin@casrrpto.com, Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm. Fees are not posted on the main page, so ask before you enrol.
What students can do
For engineering students in Chennai, the route into space work usually starts small. ISRO’s student satellite list shows how colleges have done it: a faculty-led team, a small satellite of a few kilograms or tens of kilograms, and a free ride as a secondary payload on a PSLV. Students interested in that path can ask their department whether a satellite or CubeSat club exists, follow ISRO’s announcements for student payload opportunities, and look at CASR’s UAV work as a practical entry point, since drone design uses many of the same skills in structures, control and communications.
Studying aerospace at MIT
MIT’s departments include aerospace (listed as aeronautical on the campus site), automobile, electronics, instrumentation, production technology, and rubber and plastics technology. Engineering admissions to Anna University campuses go through the state’s counselling process. Former ISRO chairman K. Sivan studied aeronautical engineering at MIT, and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam studied aerospace engineering there, the university notes. Another alumnus it lists, P.S. Veeraraghavan, a former director of ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, studied electrical engineering at the College of Engineering, Guindy. The Dean’s office is at 044-22516002.
Quick answers
What was ANUSAT?
A 40 kg microsatellite built by Anna University under ISRO guidance and launched on PSLV-C12 on 20 April 2009. It was the first satellite built by an Indian university.
Where is Anna University’s aerospace research done?
Mainly at the Centre for Aerospace Research on the MIT campus, Chromepet.
Can I learn to fly drones at Anna University?
Yes. CASR’s DGCA-approved training unit runs a 10-day course for anyone 18 or older who has passed Class 10.
Which other Chennai colleges have built satellites?
ISRO’s student satellite list includes SRMSat (2011) and Sathyabama University’s SATHYABAMASAT (2016).
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- ANUSAT (ISRO)
- Student satellites (ISRO)
- SATHYABAMASAT (ISRO)
- Anna University home page (Anna University)
- MIT Campus, Anna University (Madras Institute of Technology)
- Centre for Aerospace Research, MIT Campus (Anna University)
- CASR Remote Pilot Training Organisation (Anna University)
- Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation (Government of Tamil Nadu)
