College Students Build Low-Cost Satellite with AA Batteries for Space Debris Reduction.

A group of students and researchers at Brown University successfully launched a breadloaf-sized cube satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the low production cost of $10,000, with a shortened lifespan estimated at just five years. The microsat was constructed using accessible, off-the-shelf components, such as a popular $20 microprocessor powered by 48 AA batteries. The group also attached a 3D-printed drag sail made from Kapton film that unfurled once the cubesat reached orbit.