Mohammad Rifath Shaarook, 18 years old from Karur District, Tamil Nadu designed an experimental satellite named ‘Femto.’ The whiz kid is not the least bit anxious about his 12th exam results but instead worried about his Femto satellite.
Rifath along with five other students spent 2 whole years to design the lightweight satellite. Tanishq Dwevdi, Abdul Kashif, Gobi Nath, Yagnasai and Vinay Bharadwaj worked with Rifath Shaarook to create the successful model.
It weighs 64 grams and is one among 80 models picked from 86,000 designs. The contest “Cubes in Space” is organized by Idoodle Learning in association with NASA in 57 countries. Among all the entries, Shaarook’s was the only one selected from India.
The satellite will be launched into the sub-orbital space by an SR 4 Rocket. The six dedicated boys made this tiny satellite with reinforced carbon fiber using a 3D printing technology. The 3D printed model cost them only Rs. 1 lakh.
Shaarook showed his excitement and told the media,“I am eagerly awaiting the launch of our satellite. It will be a big day for not only me but also for the aspiring space scientists.”
The satellite with attached sensors will carry it’s mission out as soon as it’s launched. Once launched, it will remain in sub-orbital spaceflight for approximately 12 minutes and land in the ocean.
This mission will capture and record the atmosphere, temperature, radiation level, magnetosphere (the area around astronomical objects) and rotation buckling (changes in rotation.)
Shaarook is a lead scientist at Space Kidz India in Chennai. The school encourages aspiring space students by giving them a platform to work on their ideas for space technology.
The Cheif Executive Officer at Space Kidz India, Srimathy Kesan congratulated Shaarook and the five others for successfully being selected for Cubes in Space.
