WREN is a small satellite that you can control yourself

Have you ever wanted to control a satellite flying into the Earth’s orbit? If yes then you are going to love this Kickstarter project that gives you an opportunity to control a real manmade satellite revolving around our planet. The small sized satellite that is scheduled to leave the planet in a few months is called WREN or Pocketqub-Femtosatellite. It is a miniaturized satellite that has been designed to ‘open space’ to everyone and allow normal people like you and me to be in contact an object that is revolving around Earth ad give them a chance to control the device.

This small sized satellite will weigh 250g and have physical dimensions of 5x5x5cm³. It is small enough to fit in a person’s hand. But don’t go on its small size as it is completely capable of doing many things that a real satellite can such as taking pictures and sending them back to the control center. Also it features real thrusters and allows people on Earth to fully control it and move it around. The WREN satellite once launched into the orbit will allow people on Earth to position itself in any direction.

So how exactly will this small satellite be launched into space you might be wondering. Well the team behind the WREN project says that it will be launched using a UNISAT-5 deployer that will be launched using a DNEPR Rocket from Russia.

Once its revolving into the Earth’s orbit the satellite will complete a cycle of the Earth every 98 minutes. It will be flying in the sun synchronous orbit at a fast speed of 7500m per second. Since the WREN satelltite will be revolving around the whole planet the contollers will get to control the satellite up to 3 times a day. The satellite is equipped with software that controls the time the satellite will be in your range depending on your current location so you can be ready when you get to control it. It will be equipped with camera, gyro as well as a magnetic field sensor that will be used by the team down here to control and navigate the small sized satellite. The camera on this device is capable of determining the position of Earth and Sun automatically, which helps in making the navigation a lot more easier.

On Kickstarter the creators of the WREN satellite are asking people to contribute to their project and get a chance to control the satellite for real. Depending on their contributions backers will get access to control for designated lenghts of times that range from a week to lifetime.

It is certainly an amazing project that deserves funding from anyone who is a fan of space technology and has ever dreamed of controlling anything that is really in space. The team behind WREN satellite is going for £35,000 and as of this time of writing they have already gathered £2,614. You can contribute to the project by going here.

Anyone who contributes £100 or more gets to control the satellite. If you want a lifetime access to it then you can pay £1,000 to help this project in becoming a reality.