Watch A Nano-Satellite Get Assembled By Hand

Video: Nano-satellites are really cool. Like their name implies, though, they’re not especially big; this one, despite being headed for a role as part of a planet-spanning global communications network, is barely longer than the arm of the person putting it together.

The video, shot at the commercial satellite construction facility of GOMspace in Aalborg, Denmark, shows one of Sky and Space Global‘s nano-satellites being built from the central circuit board up over a period of around 22 days. This thing is barely larger than the pair of hands assembling it, but soon enough it’ll go into space to orbit the Earth at a height of 500 kilometres.

Sky and Space is sending up to 200 satellites into orbit in the middle of 2018 and beyond using Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne. It’ll only take three, though, to build a communications network that will enable voice and data services to be delivered at much lower costs than current setups — Sky and Space says 4 billion people around the world don’t have access to affordable mobile coverage.

This particular satellite is Blue Diamond — it, along with Red and Green, will go into space some time in the first half of this year on the ISRO Polar Satellite launch vehicle. [YouTube]


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