Using 48 No. 5 batteries and a $20 microprocessor, the SBUDNIC microsatellite experiment is a new breakthrough to alleviate the problem of space debris.
CTOnews.com March 21 news, the cost of a satellite is often calculated in millions of dollars, need to survive in the harsh environment of the universe, but also put forward high requirements for the satellite material. But SBUDNIC, created by a team of engineering students from Brown University, upended that routine.
The team spent 10 months using 48 Energizer AA batteries and a $20 robotic microprocessor and has been launched into space aboard Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket.
The Air Force Space Command released a new data report today that not only is the satellite operating successfully, but it could have a profound impact on efforts to reduce the growing space debris problem.
Students added a 3D printed sail made of Kapton polyimide film to this loaf of cubesat.
Upon deployment to orbit at a distance of about 520 km (well above the ISS orbit), the sails on the satellite suddenly opened like umbrellas and then pulled back to Earth. At the beginning of March, the satellite was located about 470 kilometers above Earth.
