If only Dr Abdul Kalam was alive today he would have been very happy at this news from Tamil Nadu. A student by the name of Rifath Sharook lives in the Pallapatti town of Tamil Nadu. 18 year old Rifath studies in class XII. A few days back, an international competition “Cubes in Space” was jointly organized by ‘NASA’ and ‘I doodle learning’ – a global education company. Rifath had participated in this competition.
Rifath had made a satellite in this competition organized by NASA. He named the satellite after the late President Dr Abdul Kalam. The weight of this satellite “Kalamsat” is just 64 gms! The satellite is said to be the world’s smallest and lightest satellite. Pictures of the satellite have been published in the media.
Rifath has made the satellite from “Carbon Fibre Polymer”. He designed it from the scratch. Some of the components for making the satellite were procured from abroad, rest all were totally indigenous. While media is all praises for “Kalamsat” made by Rifath, NASA has also taken cognizance of the satellite.
On 21June 2017, “Kalamsat” will be released in space by US’s National Aeronautic and Space Administration’s (NASA) sounding rocket in Wallops island. The flight of “Kalamsat” in proximity to the Earth’s orbit would span a duration of 4 hours. Of these, for 12 mins the satellite would traverse the “micro gravity environment” in space.
Rifath is eagerly waiting for 21st June. He says that the biggest challenge would be when the satellite traverses in space.
Rifath is neither a skilled technician nor a researcher. H
If Rifath’s satellite is launched successfully in June, it would be a matter of pride for India. Reason being that for the first time NASA is launching in space a satellite of an Indian student. Last year, Indian Space Reasearch Organisation
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