Kalam SAT, A Case Study.
Today we'll be discussing about a kid who can be considered as the future Elon Musk of India. He designed the lightest satellite and launched it with the help of NASA in the year 2017 at the tender age of 18 only. He kept upgrading and is now set to create a great private spaceflight agency in India. We'll be learning about his journey, his achievements, the problems he solved and the takeaways from his journey. After reading this article you might understand why I considered him the future Elon Musk of India.
It won't be an understatement if we say that we have already entered the age of the internet. Using the internet has become a part and parcel of our lives that we can't live without. Just like food, water, air and shelter, internet is creeping up to become a basic requirement to life. The pandemic has only added fuel to the fire.
Satellites can be considered the backbone of this global digital boom. With the increase in the number of satellites internet access has started reaching remote corners of the world. Services such as GPS, television, weather forecasting and so on have been only possible due to the satellites.
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Now, here are some of the problems with the current system. Most of the satellites are bulky due to which the cost of production is high. Also, mass production is difficult. And obviously, as the satellites are bulky, the cost of launching is high.
Even with the global internet boom, less than 20% of the people in underdeveloped countries have access to proper internet services. Over 3 billion people lack proper internet services around the globe. This directly ties in to the previous problems of the inability to launch many satellites in mass.
Glimmer of light
Now, we have already learnt that there is a necessity to reduce the weight of the satellites. Among many of the innovators, there was a group of Indian individuals led by Rifath Sharook whose satellite was selected to be launched by NASA. He with his team designed the smallest satellite in the world using 3D modelling, which serves as a ray of hope to the big bulky satellite problem.
Before we delve into the details of the satellite itself, let's first know a bit about Rifath Sharook and his team.
His-Story
Rifath Sharook created history at the age of only 18 by making the smallest satellite in the world. He with his team of 6 members was able to design a satellite weighing only 64 grams. His father being an astronomer inspired him to look into the world beyond our planet. Even after his death he inspires Sharook to move forward.
He at a very young age was a part of the Space Kidz India group in Chennai. This helped him grow his interest towards aerospace engineering and gain loads of experience. In 2015 he took the gold in the young scientist India-2015 program with his aerospace balloon.
Finally he emerged victorious among 80,000 more participants in the contest, "Cubes in space" sponsored by NASA . He named the satellite Kalam SAT after the great Indian scientist, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He deeply appreciates his team consisting of Yagna Sai, Abdul Kashif, Tanishq Dwivedi and Vinay Bharadwaj under the guidance of Dr. Srimathy Kesan.
Kalam SAT
Kalam SAT was the first satellite that showed the full potential of 3D printed satellites in space. It was made of a strong reinforced carbon fiber polymer which can operate under micro gravity. It was a femto satellite (satellites of mass usually under 100g ). It weighed a minimalist 64 grams and had a volume of just 3.8 cm cube. It was launched for demonstration purpose and put on test the use of 3D printing in the satellite industry. It was launched on 22nd June, 2017 from NASA. It was set to orbit the sub orbital trajectories for 240 mins but it operated for 12 minutes only before falling back. This might seem to be a failure but it was a great steps towards building small satellites. It has a nano Geiger Muller counter to measure the radiations, sensors to measure temperature, pressure, rotation and so on.
credit: thecognate.com
Takeaways and Future Prospects
There are some of the important lessons that we must take up from this case study.
First of all, if you are passionate enough you can do whatever you want irrespective of your age. Secondly, the contribution of a parent is highlighted in this case study. Here Sharook's father inspired him to take up space science and even after he passed away, he was a major part in this mission. When he was asked about how he managed his study, he simply replied that if you are passionate enough you will find a way out. Also, organizations such as Space Kidz India and competitions to showcase your talent played a major role to hunt down such kids and give them the opportunity they deserve.
In an interview he gave this message, "Follow your passion and create your own path to achieve what you want. But, for this to happen, parents should allow their children to identify their passion instead of pushing them to join coaching institutes and tuitions".
One more thing we can learn is to stay hungry. Even after achieving so much in such a tender age, he didn't settle down, instead he is planning to make Space Kidz India a great private spaceflight agency. They are set to making more innovations in the field and counter the drawbacks that they faced with their early projects. Truly, he has the potential to be the Elon Musk of India. Well this statement looks very limiting. Let us rephrase it and say, he has the potential to be the "Rifath Sharook" of India.
References and credits
Images credit- thecognate.com
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