PROVIDENCE – More than 27,000 pieces of “space junk,” or nonfunctional and abandoned spacecrafts and other mission-related debris, currently orbit the Earth, according to NASA, posing a hazard to current and future space vehicles.
A team of engineering students at Brown University has come up with a solution that’s relatively low cost for space travel: a bread loaf-sized satellite with a 3D-printed drag sail that cost around $10,000 to assemble.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
The satellite, called SBUDNIC, has been in orbit for nearly a year, having launched on a SpaceX rocket last May, and recently received promising news from a U.S. Air Force Space Command study: While regular, out-of-use vehicles can remain in orbit for an average of 25 years, the Brown satellite is descending back to Earth at a comparative rapid rate. Under current estimates, the satellite will descend out of orbit within five years.
Components include commonly available materials such as 48 Energizer AA batteries and a $20 microprocessor often used by roboticists.
The satellite was developed through a partnership between Brown’s School of Engineering and the National Research Council of Italy, with additional support from D-Orbit, AMSAT-Italy, La Sapienza-University of Rome and the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
