Tamil Nadu boy designs world's 'smallest' satellite for NASA

[ashok321]

Eighteen-year-old Rifath Sharook, belonging to a comparatively unknown town of Pallapatti in Tamil Nadu, is all set to break a global space record by launching the lightest satellite in the world, weighing a mere 64 grams.'


The satellite, called KalamSat, will be launched by a NASA sounding rocket on June 21 from Wallops Island, a NASA facility. This will be the first time an Indian student's experiment will be flown by NASA.

Rifath said it will be a sub-orbital flight and post-launch, the mission span will be 240 minutes and the tiny satellite will operate for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space. "The main role of the satellite will be to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre," he explained.

Rifath said the satellite is made mainly of reinforced carbon fibre polymer. "We obtained some of the components from abroad and some are indigenous," he said.

The satellite, named after India's nuclear scientist and former President, APJ Abdul Kalam, is also a first to be manufactured via 3D printing.

The satellite was selected through a competition called 'Cubes in Space', jointly organised by NASA and a organisation called 'I Doodle Learning'.

The main challenge was to design an experiment to be flown to space which will fit into a four-metre cube weighing exactly 64 grams. "We did a lot of research on different cube satellites all over the world and found ours was the lightest," he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...a-picked-the-satellite/slideshow/58669337.cms

 

[kvpak]

Well done Tamil Nadu boy!

He studies Tamil Nadu state board.

 

[black cat]

Published May 16, 2017
SOURCE: BBC

An Indian teenager has built what is thought could be the world’s lightest satellite, which will be put into orbit at a Nasa facility in the US in June. Rifath Shaarook’s 64-gram (0.14 lb) device was selected as the winner in a competition co-sponsored by Nasa. The 18-year-old says its main purpose was to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre.

Rifath told local media his invention will go on a four-hour mission for a sub-orbital flight.

During that time, the lightweight satellite will operate for around 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space.

“We designed it completely from scratch,” he said. “It will have a new kind of on-board computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the earth.”

The satellite has been named KalamSat after former Indian president Abdul Kalam, a pioneer for the country’s aeronautical science ambitions.

His project was selected in a challenge called Cubes in Space, organised by NASA and education company idoodle.

Newcomer scientist Rifath comes from a small town in Tamil Nadu and now works as lead scientist at Chennai-based Space Kidz India, an organisation promoting science and education for Indian children and teenagers.

The KalamSat is not his first invention: at the age of 15, he built a helium weather balloon as a part of nationwide competition for young scientists.

 

[Zer0reZ]

History created as NASA launches KalamSat - world’s smallest satellite built by Indian student

Rifath Sharook, an Indian teenager hailing from Tamil Nadu’s Pallapatti, had created the smallest and lightest satellite in the world for US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The 18-year-old has broken a global space record by launching the satellite named KalamSat.

New Delhi : A team of students from Tamil Nadu has made India proud as US space agency NASA has launched the world’s smallest satellite built by them. The students were seen rejoicing after the launch of the satellite that weighs just 64 grams.

Rifath Sharook, an Indian teenager hailing from Tamil Nadu’s Pallapatti, had created the smallest and lightest satellite in the world for US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The 18-year-old has broken a global space record by launching the satellite named KalamSat.

History was made on June 21, when a NASA sounding rocket carried the KalamSat from Wallops Island, a NASA facility. History has been created as an Indian student’s experiment has been carried out by NASA for the first time.

According to Rifath, the satellite is a sub-orbital flight and the mission span was 240 minutes post launch. The little satellite operated for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space.

"The main role of the satellite will be to demonstrate the performance of 3-D printed carbon fibre," Rifath had said earlier.

Rifath said he participated in a competition 'Cubes in Space' jointly organised by NASA and an organisation called 'I Doodle Learning' and his satellite was selected.

The main challenge in the competition was to develop an experiment to be sent to space that fits into a four-metre cube weighing exactly 64 grams.

"We did a lot of research on different cube satellites all over the world and found ours was the lightest," he was quoted as saying by TOI.
Rifath said reinforced carbon fibre polymer is mainly used to create the satellite. "We obtained some of the components from abroad and some are indigenous," he said.



As the name of the satellite suggests, ‘KalamSat’ is named after India’s nuclear scientist and former President, APJ Abdul Kalam. Rifath’s project is the first to be manufactured via 3D printing.

Speaking about his experience, Rifath added: “We designed it completely from scratch. It will have a new kind of on-board computer and eight indigenous built-in sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the earth. The main challenge was to design an experiment to be flown to space which would fit into a four-metre cube weighing 64 grammes”.

An organisation called ‘Space Kidz India’ funded the satellite, said Rifath’s.