Tiny Satellites Explore Universe
Popular Mechanics South Africa|February 2018

Small spacecraft, shaped by the forces that shrunk your cellphone, are changing the way we observe space and understand our home.

Bobak Ferdowsi
Tiny Satellites Explore Universe

AFTER A PERIOD of wildfires, hurricanes and nuclear threats, it isn’t hard to see the value in being able to surveil the Earth with daily – or even more frequent – updates. But traditional satellites, which cost trillions of rand, have orbits that mean they may not see the same target for a week or more. So an Earth-imaging company called Planet, in San Francisco, is doing something different. In the past year, it has sent nearly 150 satellites into space, including a record 88 at once from India on Valentine’s Day. That should be unthinkable, but Planet is using CubeSats, an emerging type of small satellite made possible by the miniaturisation of electronics and sensors, like those in smartphones, that are creating new possibilities to use space technology for social and economic purposes.

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