Space Kidz India
Space Kidz India is a unique aerospace startup focused on space education and student-led missions. It is essentially a private organization that has enabled students to participate in and lead real space projects – building satellites and sending experiments to space. Space Kidz India (SKI) has “built 27 space missions” (mostly academic cubesats and payloads) over its 14+ year journey. Notably, SKI designed “KalamSAT” – at 64 g, the world’s lightest satellite, which was flown on a NASA sounding rocket in 2017 (a project by an 18-year-old student under SKI’s mentorship). It also launched AzaadiSAT, an 8 kg CubeSat built by 750 young girls from rural India, which flew on ISRO’s SSLV in Aug 2022. In 2019, SKI sent a student experiment to the edge of space aboard an international zero-gravity flight, making its founder the first Indian woman to experience zero-g . Space Kidz India is structured as an aerospace incubator and outreach company: it works with schools and colleges to “make space accessible and affordable” for students. Through its programs, many Indian youth – including girls from underprivileged backgrounds - have gotten hands-on experience in satellite technology, truly democratizing space science at the grassroots.
Educational Programs: SKI conducts workshops, bootcamps, and competitions in space science for children – inspiring thousands to learn rocketry, balloon sats, and Arduino-based satellite building.
Student Satellite Missions: It partners with schools/colleges to build satellites that are then launched by ISRO. For example, AzaadiSAT-1 (2022) was a satellite with 75 tiny experiments built by girls to commemorate 75 years of Independence. Though AzaadiSAT’s launch vehicle had issues, SKI came back with AzaadiSAT-2, which flew successfully on ISRO’s LVM3 in 2023, carrying cameras and radiation sensors designed by students.
ShakthiSAT Global Mission: Announced in 2023, this initiative aims to involve 12,000 girl students from 108 countries in building a small satellite together – promoting international cooperation and STEM education for girls. SKI also delivered “Space Waste Recycling” experiments to sub-orbital flights and worked on a lunar payload: it contributed an instrument (and a digital art collage) that actually went to the Moon aboard Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter in 2019 (and another on Chandrayaan-3 in 2023).
Merchandise & Inspiration: As an outreach company, SKI sells science kits and publishes inspiring content to spark curiosity. Essentially, Space Kidz India’s service is capacity building – it turns young students into satellite builders, markedly lowering the entry barrier to space R&D
Meet the Team
Founders
Dr. Srimathy Kesan (Founder & CEO) - an educationist started SKI in 2011 with the motto “Let’s make young India ready for the space age.” She has since become the face of space education in India - from floating in zero-g to personally guiding teams of students in mission control during their satellite launches. Under her leadership, SKI has broken many glass ceilings: she’s often mentioned as the first private Indian woman to direct a satellite mission.
Other Team Members
Taranjeet Singh - Lead Engineer (oversees the technical assembly of student-built satellites). V. Rajalakshmi - Program Manager (coordinates between schools, ISRO, and SKI for project logistics). SKI works closely with ISRO’s Capacity Building Program Office, and ISRO has provided launch opportunities for SKI’s student & volunteer satellites at nominal cost.
