00:00For most 19-year-olds, a trip to India might mean sightseeing, shopping and lots of pictures.
00:06For Caitlin, that trip went quite a bit higher.
00:09She traveled to India for the ShaktiSat Mission 2026 Space Kids India Space Program
00:15and did things most people only see on screen, that is, the chance to work on a satellite.
00:22Hands-on working on a satellite, so we actually got to work on a 12-use satellite
00:28which would be used as a low-Earth orbit.
00:30We got to build and reassemble the engineering model of the ShaktiSat satellite alongside of our scientists
00:38and we also helped wind the magnetor for our lunar 1U moonset mission.
00:46And there was plenty more to learn, including how satellites get the power they need to keep functioning.
00:51The satellite uses sun's energy to recharge itself and they have on-board batteries
00:56that would be used during periods of, like, eclipses or when there's, like, debris blocking
01:02the viability of the satellite, the solar panels.
01:05So, during those periods, they will have the batteries kicking in to power the rest of the system to work.
01:12But Caitlin says the experience was not just about sitting down, taking notes and memorizing theory.
01:18I don't think we just want to sit there and learn theory, theory, theory all the time.
01:22There's a fun way to put that twist to things, because even while I was doing the program,
01:26instead of just sitting there and just reading and then just completing it, just going like that,
01:32I resorted to YouTube videos, talking with my two younger sisters who were also involved in the program,
01:37with friends I would have made throughout our Trinidad and Tobago community with the other girls we have.
01:41And we would have found ways to make it unique.
01:44So, it's either we did, like, little fun quizzes, watched YouTube videos,
01:48or just really just sit down with each other and talk about it.
01:51So, the program itself, while it is long, yes, it is tedious, yes, that is true.
01:56It isn't something that can be done overnight.
01:58It's just your take and your way, because everyone else, everyone out there,
02:03has a different way that they would want to get their curriculum covered
02:07or want to see how a program is done.
02:09That hands-on approach is something she believes TNT can benefit from.
02:13Caitlin says programs like this could expose young people to opportunities
02:18that are not fully integrated into the local curriculum.
02:22It can definitely benefit us in a lot of ways.
02:24It gives us the avenue towards experiencing a full-fledged STEM program
02:30and to have the experience to do something like this, even online,
02:35and it's going to have modules long and whatnot.
02:37It was something that we do not have full integration yet in our curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago.
02:43So, it is the way forward.
02:46And while Caitlin has already had her feet firmly on the ground,
02:50working with satellite medicine and technology, her eyes are still on the skies,
02:55as the scientists in India are now working toward the finalization of a satellite
02:59and the lunar mission with a launch planned for October 11th.
03:04In terms of the program, right now, our scientists back in India are working on the finalization
03:12of the safety star to satellite as well as the lunar mission,
03:17and they are going to be launching that on October 11th, which is the international day of the girl child,
03:22if I remember right.
03:23So, that's next in the program.
03:25Caitlin said she would like to travel back to India to witness the launch firsthand.
03:30If I'm given the opportunity, I'd like to go and see firsthand the launching off of the satellites
03:38as well as the lunar mission payload system out there to space.
03:43It would be a really memorable experience.
03:46But even if that hasn't happened, it has been a wonderful experience knowing that I went there,
03:53represented our small Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on a mission of that level and scale,
04:00and that our country's flag, I believe, is now going to be on the moon,
04:04and that I have wrecked us really well out there.
04:07But perhaps the most interesting part of her space journey is where she wants to take it next.
04:13She is pursuing a medical degree and has her eyes set on a field that could bring medicine and space
04:19technology together.
04:20In my medicine life's medical degree so far, I'd like to probably get the best of it to Will
04:28and see if we can do something with space medicine.
04:30But it isn't something fully explored yet, home here in Trinidad and Tobago.
04:35But what I'd really like to see done is we could probably integrate with the use of satellites
04:41how we could better our health care system in Trinidad.
04:45So that is one way we could move forward with it to get help with remote monitoring, disease surveillance, and
04:51all that kind of stuff.
04:53So from building satellites in India to dreaming about transforming health care at home,
04:58Caitlin's journey may have started with a space program.
05:01But she's already thinking about how far the experience can take Trinidad and Tobago.
05:06And who knows, the next time that rocket launches into the sky,
05:11there just might be a Trinidad and Tobago national watching it knowing she helped play a small part in getting
05:17it there.
05:18Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
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