“Creating a New Young India – Making Space Explorable and Economical for the Future Generation”- Dr.Srimathy Kesan
Dr. Srimathy, Founder & CEO of a leading Science and Technology incubator- “Space Kidz India” (SKI), is helping children reach out to the stars, quite literally. Launched in 2011, Space Kidz India has designed and pioneered multiple programs that are aimed at creating the next generation of scientific thinkers in India.
President Co.Founder CSO, Space Rickshaw – Space Rickshaw. Building unmanned Labs in Space, a playground where scientsitst, enterpreneur, and artists can create, build and progress to unleast the potential of space for betterment of humanity.
Driven with a mission to disrupt the mundanity of the Indian education system, Dr. Srimathy has broken ground in a hitherto uncharted avenue called “Space Education” through her unique programs, aimed at grooming India’s future scientists. Her ultimate goal is to lay the foundation for a World renowned Space University with manufacturing port in India.
She is the only Indian to be decorated with the Ambassador status to the top 3 Space centres of the World, NASA, ESA and GCTC – Moscow. Apart from taking children to these research centres for hands on Space training – Rocket building and launching techniques, Satellite making, she has also invited Cosmonaut Salizan Sharipov (Director of Yuri Gagarin Space Centre, Moscow) and Astronaut Marsha Ivins (NASA) to India to meet with Indian students and share their Space travel experience and to motivate students, Retd. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma – Hero of Soviet Union, Space traveller and the only Indian Cosmonaut had also shared his expertise with these students.
“Creating Young Scientists and Young Leaders for the Country” is her main motto and for which she had designed a metric to hand pick them.“Young Scientist India”, “Youth Icon”, and “I4 India – Innovate for India” are annual contests, a unique avenue to promote innovations in the field of Science and Technology for high school and University students, apart from hand picking the core team of Young Scientists, they are then mentored, funded to create path breaking live projects. Building and Launching Satellites by High school and University students was her dream which came true in the year 2015, where her SKI team of Young scientists built and launched the 1st ever “Near Space Launch Vehicle, NSLV a Balloon Satellite named NSLV.KALAM.1 that was flown to stratosphere 1,07,000 ft and created numerous records and especially special mention in the Limca book of records for being the first student team to launch a high altitude balloon from India and reach an Altitude of 1,07,000ft. Subsequently, have been successful in launching 9 NSLV’s from different parts of India. Highly accoladed for this unique idea several Universities have collaborated with SKI to launch their Satellites.
On July 25th 2018 Team SKI created record by launching it’s NSLV 3 and entered into ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS as the “First ever Thermal printing in Near Space” The payload carried a thermal printer which printed the autobiography of former president Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the Honourable Chief Minister of Rajasthan Mrs. Vasundhra Raje then.
And later on July 26th 2018 Team SKI Launched it’s NSLV 4 and broke it’s own record and got mentioned in ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS for reaching an Altitude of 1,22,000ft which is the highest ever altitude reached by an High altitude balloon which was launched from Bikaner, Rajasthan.
On 25th Aug 2018 “SKI – NSLV- 6” – the giant balloon, two times the size of the Empire State building, from NASA’s Columbia facility soared the sky with SKI’s 500 gm payload designed by its highly talented “Junior team aged between 10 years -15years. This balloon travelled “near space” below the Karman line where outer space begins. This was the children’s 1st step towards economically experimenting and pushing their scientific imagination. It was part of SKI’s 1st launch as Dr. Srimathy, Ambassador to the CiS program, USA. Recently Team SKI collaborated with the world’s first women’s college “Periyar Maniammai Institute of Technology” and created a record on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of their college and got registered in ASIA BOOK OF RECORDS as “All women team to launch a high altitude balloon satellite” on 21st April 2019.
