"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
30 Jul 2017
The world’s smallest spacecraft has been launched by Indian Space Organization’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket in low Earth orbit.
The spacecraft is named as ‘Sprite’. Sprite is just 3.5x3.5 square centimeters and weighs only four grams. It was created under Breakthrough Starshot program. It has components like solar panels for generating power from sunlight, computing components, sensors and radios for transmission. The program was funded with help of 2011 Kickstarter campaign. Sprite is a first step towards using single chip spacecraft in space. Sprite is currently performing well in all the tests it has been put into. There has been proper message transmission between the spacecraft and the ground based communication stations at California and New York. Also, the radio buffs can very well catch the signals sent by Sprite.
The entire idea to launch Sprite was to prove that it is possible to create single chip spacecraft which can reach speeds of 20 percent that of light thereby placing them in the photographic range of Alpha Centauri planetary bodies including Proxima b. This is one of the best methods that have a bright and reliable future in aeronautics.
