LACHIT-1: Northeast India’s First Satellite

Assam Don Bosco University is set to launch LACHIT-1, the first satellite developed from Northeast India, aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C62 on January 12. The mission marks a breakthrough in decentralising India’s space ecosystem by extending hands-on space engineering capabilities to a region historically distant from core space infrastructure.

The mission has brought together over 50 students and faculty members from across the Northeast, including Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Mission Director Prof Vikramjit Kakati, also Director of ADBU’s Research and Development Cell, said the university began planning its space programme in 2022 and has since expanded steadily into satellite engineering, mission operations and ground-station management.

About LACHIT-1

• LACHIT-1 is part of Dhruva Space’s Polar Access-1 (PA-1) programme.
• It is named after Lachit Borphukan, symbolising courage, resilience and regional pride.
• The satellite has been developed using Dhruva Space’s flight-qualified P-DoT platform under the ASTRA programme for academia.
• It will be deployed using the DSOD-1U separation system.