During the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE+50), India announced a capacity building training programme UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly &Training by ISRO) on Nanosatellites development in three batches for international participants from countries around the world.

First batch of UNNATI Programme was conducted from 15th January to 15th March 2019 wherein 29 participants from 17 countries had benefitted.

The second batch of UNNATI programme was inaugurated by Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DOS, Dr. K. Sivan at U. R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bangalore on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 in the presence of Director, URSC, Mr. P. Kunhikrishnan and Senior programme officer, UNOOSA (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs) Mr. Luc St-Pierre. In the second batch, 30 participants from 16 countries (Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Colombia, Kenya, Mauritius, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, and Vietnam) are participating and second batch will be conducted till December 15, 2019.

The course comprises of a combination of theoretical coursework and hands-on training. As part of theoretical coursework, the participants are taken through basics of satellite technology (Module 1) and nanosatellites (Module 2). The participants would be introduced to the design aspects of satellites, the various subsystems of a satellite and their functionality, configuration evolution and post-launch mission operations. As part of hands-on training, all participants are introduced to Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) of Nanosatellites in the labs of URSC.

The programme promises to be very useful for the participants as well as the sponsored agencies/countries as it opens the arena for Nano satellite technology in their respective country. With this initiative, India is sharing its vast experience in satellite technology with other nations.