A local aerospace tech company has managed to put Malaysia on the international stage for inventing the world’s smallest satellite, which is fully functional in orbit.
The great news was announced by Independence-X Aerospace CEO and CTO, Izmir Yamin on Facebook, where he shared that the world’s smallest satellite has recently been validated by renowned space industry experts at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC2022) in Paris, France.
“Finally! The WORLD’S SMALLEST SATELLITE has been validated by renowned space industry experts. It is smaller than the PocketQube and has similar functions, and is significantly smaller than a CubeSat. Introducing our very own GerhanaSAT, a Femto-class satellite product by Independence-X Aerospace,” he wrote.
The GerhanaSAT has 2 versions, comprised of the Space Version (SV), measuring 30mm, while the Consumer Version (CV) measures 32mm of cube edge length.
It is said that the satellite can remain in orbit for two years and can be launched as a constellation to get continuous communication or as a single satellite with intermittent communication.
The model was validated by the representatives from the French Space Agency (CNES) Dr Patrick Castillan and Dr Alan Gleyzes of CNES (Assistant Director of CNES), who both said, “This is the smallest satellite in the world that I have seen so far.”
Izmir also said that they have since received at least 520 satellites from multiple countries, mainly from Europe and the USA, as well as parts of the Middle East and Africa.
For the record, this is also the first time Malaysia is exporting Malaysian-made Space Tech products.
“A huge thanks to my talented space engineering team, family members, friends and sponsors for their support and dedication. The smallest in the world and the first in Malaysia. I’d like to credit ASU-Arizona State University for their ongoing work in Femto-satellites as well. A Malaysian space product for the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, the company also signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) of commercial space contract with a Netherlands company of SpaceBorn United B.V. to develop and supply Space Re-entry Vehicle (MERCAP, Microgravity Experiment Re-entry Capsule) for the use of European-based Space Bio-Technology R&D and production in space orbit.
The signing ceremony event was witnessed by the Malaysian Embassy in France, MIDA (Malaysian Investment Development Authority), European Space Industry, Frontier Aerospace, Asgardia.
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