Vatican City (EFE) in a square in San Pedro empty due to the pandemic, thus transmitting his words in space.
The “Spei Satelles” project, which was presented today by the Vatican, will begin on June 10 from the Vandenberg launch site in California (USA), when a CubeSat-type nano-satellite built by the Polytechnic of Turin (northwestern Italy) and operated by the Italian Space Agency and which will be put into orbit to carry a “message of hope and peace” from Pope Francis.
A digital nano-book produced by the National Research Council is stored on the satellite, consisting of a 2x2x0.2 mm silicon sheet on which, using nanotechnologies, images, speeches and readings have been printed. that on March 27, 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Francis recited in that shocking moment of prayer under incessant rain.
Once launched into sun-synchronous orbit, “Spei Satelles” will transmit a radio signal that can be detected even with amateur radio devices that will spread “the messages of hope from the pope’s magisterium.”
“That prayer has become an icon of hope that continues on its way and continues to call the inhabitants of the planet to action,” highlighted the promoters of this unprecedented initiative during their presentation.
On Wednesday May 29, at the end of the general audience, the pontiff will bless the satellite and the nanobook before they are transferred for the last technical checks prior to launch.
“The satellite will be placed in low Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 525 kilometers and will follow a solar synchronous orbit that combines height and inclination in such a way that the CubeSat will always fly over the same point on the Earth’s surface at the same local solar time,” according to the organizers.
“A unicum in the history of space exploration and in the life of the Catholic Church,” they added.
In 2021, one year after the event, the photos and texts of that “Statio Orbis”, or extraordinary moment of prayer, were also deposited in a nano book in the world seed bank, in the Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway, as ” seeds of hope.
