Indian teen from Tamil Nadu develops world's lightest satellite for NASA, names it 'KalamSat'
An 18 year old boy from a village in Tamil Nadu has created the lightest working satellite despite not possessing a professional satellite designing degree. The satellite will be launched into space later this year by NASA.
In Short
- 'KalamSat' is amed after Dr Abdul Kalam
- The four-centimetre cube satellite weighs 64 grams.
- The satellite will be launched into space by NASA on June 21.
Rifath Sharook, an 18 year old student from Pallapatti in Karur district in Tamil Nadu, developed the lightest working satellite ever.
The satellite has been named 'KalamSat' in memory of the world-renowned scientist and late President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The four-centimetre cube satellite weighs 64 grams and includes sensors to measure temperature and radiation levels, among other data.
The significant part is that the cube is 3D printed and uses carbon fiber.
The satellite is scheduled to be launched on June 21 from NASA's Wallops Space Center in the United States on a SR-4 rocket. KalamSat will begin working once it enters the sub-orbital path. It will function for for 12 minutes and will record different data before falling into the sea.
Rifath's satellite was chosen from 86,000 designs submitted by teams from 57 countries in a 'Cubes in Space' contest held by NASA and 'I Doodle Learning'.
Rifath is eagerly waiting for the day when his satellite will enter orbit and transmit data.
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