back to article US student to fill heavens with Sprites

A Cornell University postgrad student is offering enthusiasts the chance to get their own diminutive bit of kit into space, in the form of a miniature satellite. Zac Manchester's Sprite is a solar-powered board "about the size of a couple of postage stamps", which packs a "microcontroller and a radio for communicating with …

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  1. Anonymous John

    Re after two to three weeks, the Sprites will burn up

    Can he guarantee they won't take out a satellite in those two or three weeks?

    1. BristolBachelor Gold badge

      I suppose that it's possible, with about the same probability of you throwing a brick up in the air and taking out an airplane. (throwing while standing under a parked plane doesn't count!)

      These things will be released at a lower altitude than sats normally orbit (hence why they won't last long)

    2. Old Handle

      Presumably normal satellites are not put into an orbit where they burn up in two to three weeks, and thus will not be in the line of fire. Alright, I know it's a bit more complicated than that, but I'm sure they're not going to shoot these into oncoming traffic.

  2. K. Adams
    Alert

    Two words...

    "Kessler syndrome"

    Wikipedia article:

    -- -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome

  3. Dave 32
    FAIL

    Project Westford

    And, y'all probably thought Project Westford was a bad idea, too!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Westford

    Dave

  4. mamsey
    Mushroom

    Feel the burn...

    ... I spent a £100 on fireworks last week so this would appear to be the next step in burning up my hard earned cash.

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