ChipSats: 1cm Satellites - What!?
Scientists & engineers from Cornell University in NY and Strathclyde University are working on ChipSats - the tiny satellites that will redefine the future of satellites and communication. Chipsats will be 1 cm in diameter and weigh several milligrams. The new satellites will be mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station and if the experiment is successful there would soon be tens of thousands of Chipsats orbiting around Earth and other plants in our solar system.
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Chipsat
The researchers believe that these tiny satellites would drastically reduce the cost of manufacturing and also help us use them in innovative ways we couldn't use the current generation satellites. These satellites would help in monitoring the planet's atmospheric conditions, space weather and also measuring various parameters of the planet's surface. The teams are working on three PCB devices and by April, they'd be a part of the International Space Station Experiment 8 project.
The biggest utility of Chipsats would be their ability to enter the planet's atmosphere without burning up because of the air friction. Dr. Mason Peck from Cornell University is working on Chipsats. Dr. Peck says, "The key question is not how can we shrink a traditional spacecraft, but instead “what physics can be exploited to realize spacecraft functionality at this length scale?â€
References: -
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4. Image Credit: Dr. Peck's Presentation (Link #3)
Chipsat
The researchers believe that these tiny satellites would drastically reduce the cost of manufacturing and also help us use them in innovative ways we couldn't use the current generation satellites. These satellites would help in monitoring the planet's atmospheric conditions, space weather and also measuring various parameters of the planet's surface. The teams are working on three PCB devices and by April, they'd be a part of the International Space Station Experiment 8 project.
The biggest utility of Chipsats would be their ability to enter the planet's atmosphere without burning up because of the air friction. Dr. Mason Peck from Cornell University is working on Chipsats. Dr. Peck says, "The key question is not how can we shrink a traditional spacecraft, but instead “what physics can be exploited to realize spacecraft functionality at this length scale?â€
References: -
1. #-Link-Snipped-#
2. #-Link-Snipped-#
3. #-Link-Snipped-#
4. Image Credit: Dr. Peck's Presentation (Link #3)
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