Team that built world's lightest satellite 'KalamSat' felicitated

Chennai: A young team that built the world's lightest and first 3D printed satellite "KalamSat", launched by the US space agency NASA on Thursday, was felicitated by a social group here on Friday.

The KalamSat team -- led by Rifath Sharook, an 18-year-old student from Tamil Nadu -- built the 3.8 cm cube satellite (Femto category) weighing 64 gm. It was launched by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sounding rocket.

The satellite's structure is fully 3D printed with reinforced carbon fibre polymer.

The satellite operated for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space and its main role was to demonstrate the performance of 3D printed carbon fibre.

The satellite is named after former President, the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said a statement by the All India Social Activist & NGOs Association.