Tiny Cube, Big Leap: KalamSat Proves 64-gram 3D-Printed Satellites Can Survive Launch

An 18-year-old from Tamil Nadu, Rifath Sharook, built KalamSat—a 64-gram, 3D-printed femto-satellite funded at about $1,500—that flew on NASA's 2017 Cubes in Space program and survived the suborbital launch, proving ultra-light, affordable spacecraft can ride into space; its payload included a microcomputer and sensors, and the team later launched KalamSat-V2 into orbit with ISRO in 2019, showing small student projects can reach orbit at a fraction of traditional costs.