Chennai: A native of Karur, 18-year-old Md. Rifath, along with five others, together, designed a first-of-its-kind 3D printed satellite — called 'Kalam Sat' — to be sent into space from Virginia, Arizona on June 21.
The project, which was selected as part of a competition called' Cubes in Space' - organised by Nasa and ‘doodle learning’ — aims to take the performance of new technology to space. “This is the first satellite in the world that is 3D printed. We designed it completely from scratch. It will have a new kind of on board computer and eight indigenous built in sensors that will measure the acceleration, rotation and the magnetosphere of the earth,” said Riswath, who recently completed his plus two exams at Crescent Matric Higher Secondary School and is awaiting his results.
Stating that the competition took place in November last year, he said that the team started designing the satellite a year ago.
“After submitting the design proposals, the organisers selected us,” said the youngster adding that they were funded by Space Kidz India, an organisation that the participants are a part of.
“I have a great interest in Space and I am a subscriber of the Nasa Kid’s Club. They periodically send in competition details,” said the resident of Pallapatti, a small village in Karur district.
With the competition being held world over, the fact that Rifath and his team members were selected has served as a moment of pride for the country.
“Rifath is the lead scientist in Space Kidz India. We had actually started working on a satellite that is to be launched from the United States next month. However, we chanced upon this particular idea and then we sent in this design, which was accepted and we were chosen,” said Srimathy Kesan, founder, Space Kidz India.
“The design apart, the technical aspect really impressed the director of the idoodle Nasa consortium who said ‘I really fell off the chair, looking at the technical details.’ That was the impression the kids gave in. They are assembling the parts now. This is a prelude, like a test trial. We wanted to create history by doing this on a 3 D printed material,” she added proudly.
