Kalam SAT is to be the world’s lightest space probe (till May, 2017. Named after former Indian president Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, it will be launched by NASA on 21 June, 2017 from Wallops Island.
The probe was built by Rifath Sharook, an 18 year old student from Pallapatti, Tamil Nadu, India, as a part of a competition, named as - ‘Cubes in Space’. This contest was jointly organised by NASA and another organisation ‘I Doodle Learning’ which is a global education company. This will be the first time when a space probe, that was made by an Indian student will be launched by NASA.
The weight of the probe is just 64 grams and it is fitted in a 4 centimeters cube. The probe is composed of 3-D printed reinforced carbon fibre polymer. Part of the components were supplied from India and other parts from abroad. The probe will be launched by a sub-orbital spaceflight. The expected time span of the mission (post flight) is 240 minutes. The tiny probe will be operated only for 12 minutes to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre in a micro-gravity environment of space.
The probe was built by Rifath Sharook, an 18 year old student from Pallapatti, Tamil Nadu, India, as a part of a competition, named as - ‘Cubes in Space’. This contest was jointly organised by NASA and another organisation ‘I Doodle Learning’ which is a global education company. This will be the first time when a space probe, that was made by an Indian student will be launched by NASA.
The weight of the probe is just 64 grams and it is fitted in a 4 centimeters cube. The probe is composed of 3-D printed reinforced carbon fibre polymer. Part of the components were supplied from India and other parts from abroad. The probe will be launched by a sub-orbital spaceflight. The expected time span of the mission (post flight) is 240 minutes. The tiny probe will be operated only for 12 minutes to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre in a micro-gravity environment of space.
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