Space agencies have been working with the Hardware Libre and 3D printing. Work that seems like it will not fall on deaf ears or at least will not be ephemeral like others. Recently, NASA has managed to obtain a model of a space satellite that only weighs 64 grams and is printed in carbon.
This satellite model has been the work of a young Indian who has participated in NASA's Cubes in Space contest. The winning models of the contest will be worked on by NASA and will be a reality in a matter of years. So young Rifath Shaarook's project will be managing our data in a few months.
The satellite created by Rifath Shaarook is a carbon-printed cube that weighs only 64 grams. East satellite works in the suborbit of the planet and at the moment it will only work for 12 minutes in zero gravity. At least the initial model, since possibly with the work of NASA the satellite has a longer duration.
Rifath Shaarook's satellite weighs only 64 grams but only lasts 12 minutes in zero gravity
What is interesting about this project is not the use of 3D printing as a tool to build satellites but the fact of size and weight, elements that help reduce the famous space debris and make the space race considerably cheaper. It goes without saying that the Rifath satellite could help interesting projects like the Google project to spread the Internet in remote places or the Facebook project. Although we have to say that for this they have to ask permission from NASA, which right now has almost all the rights to the project.
Rifath Shaarook is not the first project he creates. Despite his 18 years, the young Indian already has an extensive resume of inventions and projects related to electronics and Hardware Libre. At the age of 15, the young Indian won a national contest with a weather balloon.