CHENNAI: An 18-year-old boy, Rifath Sharook in India’s southern city of Chennai has developed a satellite lighter than smartphone, which National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch on June 21.
Rifath Sharook, a Class 12 student, developed 64-gram satellite while participating in a contest, Cubes in Space, organised by US space agency, NASA and idoodlelearning Inc, a global education company.
Claimed to be the world’s smallest satellite and a first to be manufactured via 3D printing, ‘Kalam Sat’ will be launched on an SR-4 rocket from Wallops Space Flight facility at Virginia, USA. The satellite is named after India’s nuclear scientist and former President, APJ Abdul Kalam.
Sharook said the satellite, which is made of reinforced carbon fibre polymer, will act as a technology demonstrator in its 12-minute flight and provide impetus to plan economical space missions in future.
The satellite falls in the category of ‘femto’ group as it weighs less than 0.1 kg.
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