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Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted Mission ShakthiSAT in the 137th episode of Mann Ki Baat on 30 August 2026, saying the dreams of the country's daughters are now taking flight from the earth to space.
Mission ShakthiSAT is an all-girls global space education initiative led by Space Kidz India, the Chennai-based organisation headed by its founder and chief executive Dr Srimathy Kesan, and is billed as the world's first global all-girls lunar CubeSat mission.
It brings together about 12,000 girl students from 108 countries for online coursework and hands-on training in satellite technology, with student-built payloads intended for launch on an ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
The training programme was formally rolled out at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, on 23 August 2026 - National Space Day and the university's 19th Foundation Day - with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chancellor Yogi Adityanath inaugurating it online.
The same episode of Mann Ki Baat also carried the drug-free youth campaign for a developed India and a tribute to the Bengali cinema icon Uttam Kumar.
Space Kidz India rolls out Mission ShakthiSAT and begins the global training programme for girl students.
The training programme is formally launched at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, on National Space Day and the university's 19th Foundation Day; Chief Minister and Chancellor Yogi Adityanath inaugurates it online.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla interacts with the participating students, and Veronique Herminie, First Lady of Seychelles, takes part in the programme.
A rocket-launch demonstration is held for the participants in collaboration with IN-SPACe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlights Mission ShakthiSAT in the 137th episode of Mann Ki Baat.
Leads Mission ShakthiSAT; builds student satellites and runs space-education programmes
Associated with the mission's launch; the PSLV is the intended launch vehicle
Single-window promoter and regulator for private space activity in India; partnered on the rocket-launch demonstration for the participants
Hosted the launch of the ShakthiSAT training programme; plans a satellite ground station on campus
Observed on 23 August, marking the touchdown of Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander near the lunar south pole in 2023 - the date on which the ShakthiSAT training programme was launched at Gautam Buddha University.
A class of miniaturised satellite built to standard 10 cm cube units, cheap enough for universities and student teams to fly - the format that makes a student-built lunar payload possible at all.
The Prime Minister's monthly radio programme on Akashvani, aired on the last Sunday of each month since October 2014; it regularly serves as a national showcase for citizen and student initiatives.
The mission is framed as a gender-inclusion instrument as much as a technology one, which is how UPSC is likelier to test it - under GS Paper 1 society or GS Paper 2 rather than pure science.
GS Paper 3 > Science and Technology: Space; GS Paper 2 > Government policies and women's empowerment
General Awareness > Current Affairs and Science
General Awareness > Science and Technology
A miniaturised satellite built in standard 10 cm cube units, low-cost enough for student and university missions.
Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, headquartered at Ahmedabad, the single-window agency for authorising and promoting private space activity in India.
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, ISRO's workhorse launcher, the intended vehicle for the ShakthiSAT payloads.