Who says you need to be associated with NASA, Roscosmos, ESA or any other space agency to launch a spacecraft into the orbit? Now you can launch your person satellites into the space, for Zac Manchester is working on a cheap device resembling an Arduino circuit board that will allow common people to build and fly their own satellites dubbed the “Sprites.”
Comprising a radio transceiver, solar panels for power and a minute computer to gather information and operate the sensors, packed onto a compact surface, the space Arduino will be transported to the orbit inside a container in the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that will release the container before reaching the destination. Manchester is planning to launch 250 cracker-size satellites “Sprites” into space to commence his ambitious personal space project.
Via: SFGate
