DhumketuX to launch homemade rockets in February
After two years of waiting, the Made in Bangladesh rocket, 'Dhumketu X' has officially received permission to be launched from the home ground. Bangladesh's first rocket Dhumketu X Ekush will be test launched during the month of International Mother Language. This series includes Dhumketu 1, 2, 3, 4 and Ekushey-1 rockets. According to sources, this launch will be done from Bandarban or coastal areas as per government guidelines.
According to the permission obtained by the inventors, the Ekushey series of rockets will be sent to a distance of one and a half kilometers in space for research work. By launching these rockets equipped with weather monitoring circuits and sensors, various weather messages about the temperature, humidity and wind of the upper atmosphere of the earth will be collected and brought back.
The Dhumketu team won a grant of Tk. 5 million through winning the 1st Rocketry Challenge competing against 124 teams. The event was organized by a2i under the ICT Division. Bangladesh's first space research and development company DhumketuX made 4 rockets with that money. Two of the model Dhumketu-1and two more named Dhumketu-2. Dhumketu-1 is 8 diameters in length and 6 diameters in volume. And the volume of Dhumketu-2 with a length of 6 diameters is 4 diameters. Nahian Al Rahman Oli, a former student of Mymensingh Engineering College and chief executive of 'Dhumketu X' said that, the rocket which is capable of traveling at a distance of 52 km has been completed by 50 percent. However, he said that the work is currently suspended as the budget has not yet been released.
Oli also said that the series of rocket Ekushey-1 to Ekushey-4 is equipped with weather monitoring circuits and sensors. They will be launched for the first time in February, taking them into Earth's upper atmosphere to collect various weather information and will be brought back. However, the government will announce the distance time based on the certificate received from the Air Force. However, on February 7 last year, the engine test of 'Punti Machh' was successful in its range up to one kilometer. And the range of Ekushey-52 will be 52 km. If all goes well, the launch will be possible by the middle of this year. The 45 kg rocket “Dhumketu X Ekush” was displayed at the Mymensingh Town Hall ground on November 25 last year. After the visit, Ariful Hasan Apu, President of Bangladesh Innovation Forum and Adviser of NASA Space Apps Challenge, commented that this initiative is an inspiration for the people of Bangladesh to win the Moon and Mars. In his words, 'A rocket launching plays a very important role in making the nation science-oriented. I think it's a huge inspiration for students and kids today who are dreaming that someday they will go to the Moon, to the Mars and explore the space.'
Talking to this inspiring young dreamer, it was revealed that Nahian Al Rahman was fond of inventing airplanes and rockets since his childhood. That dream started taking wings after getting admission in Mymensingh Engineering College. Growing up in Gaibandha, this young man dared to build a startup 'DhumketuX' with the dream of becoming SpaceX. Friends also helped in this work. The rockets have been named Dhumketu after the rebellious poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's famous magazine Dhumketu. Then, he took 30 friends with him and made a rocket named 'Dhumketu X' after five years of effort. Nahian started working with the money saved from his private tuition and a loan of two lakh taka from his mother's bank account. This amount of investment exceeded 12 times at one point of time. Then, he made two solid fuel engines and built a 10 feet high prototype rocket. Now, 124 Bangladeshi rocket researchers are involved in DhumketuX despite staying in different countries to build a sustainable rocket industry in the country. They are researching to take Bangladesh to the rank of satellite producing country.
Through this, the work that our neighboring country India started in1957, DhumketuX started the work in 2022. Will it be successful after starting so late? In response to such doubts, Oli said, 'Technology is very fast now. For that, we have created a platform with our Bangladeshi researchers who are now working in countries like America, Russia, India and China. So it won't take us long to catch up. By 2026-27 with government policy and financial support, we will conduct a vehicle test run of nano satellite launch from Bangladesh. It will be after the name of our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. The Nazrul-1 rocket will be able to carry a payload of 260 kg into low-orbit. In this way one day we can launch Bangabandhu-5 or 6 all by ourselves.'
Irfan Mahmud Tushar, Head of Embedded Systems Engineering of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University; Saidur Rahman, an engineer who received Eramus Mandus Scholarship of the European Commission; Shahrukh Khan, an aerospace specialist; Adil Arham, software engineer of Mymensingh University of Engineering and Technology Fazle Rabbi Bindu; Ashraf Mia Jannatul Naeem, Tajmeul Hasan of Padma Smart Technology; Environmental Analyst Nadeem Ahmed; Chemical Graphic Engineer Leanne Mallick Lihan; AI Animator Rohan Bin Mizan; Mechanical Engineer Sara Karim; Electrical and Materials Engineer Rishi Paul and others are involved in that effort.
In this way, Bangladesh will be able to establish its sovereignty in space one day by holding the hands of these young engineers and inventors. Will become a member of the club of 15th own space launch in the world. If this big step is passed, the huge foreign currency spent by Bangladesh in America and Russia will be saved. The door of satellite export will also be opened. However, it is likely to be sometime before 2030. Of course, we can make the dream of Smart Sonar Bangla come true in 2041.
