Pope Francis on Wednesday will bless a satellite that will launch his words into space on June 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cSpes Satelles,\u201d Latin for \u201cSatellites of Hope,\u201d will be launched on a rocket taking off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Vatican, the miniaturized satellite will hold a copy of a book documenting the pope\u2019s urbi et orbi blessing of March 27, 2020, when, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he blessed the world from St. Peter\u2019s Square with the words \u201cLord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies, and comfort our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou ask us not to be afraid,\u201d the pope prayed. \u201cYet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book, \u201cWhy Are You Afraid? Have You No Faith? The World Facing the Pandemic,\u201d has been converted into a nanobook, a 2-millimeter by 2-millimeter by 0.2-millimeter silicon plate, for transport to space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pope Francis will bless the satellite and the nanobook after his weekly public audience in St. Peter\u2019s Square on March 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Vatican said March 27 the CubeSat, the name for miniature satellites, will travel aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX\u2019s partially reusable two-stage launch platform. It will be hosted on the ION SCV-011ION platform, a satellite carrier developed and built by the Italian company D-Orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Italian Space Agency will operate the satellite, which was built by the Polytechnic University of Turin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe satellite is equipped with a radio transmitter as well as onboard instruments to be maneuvered from the ground,\u201d a press release stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While in orbit, the satellite will broadcast decipherable statements from Pope Francis on the theme of hope and peace in English, Italian, and Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president of the Italian Space Agency, Giorgio Saccoccia, said the Holy See asked the agency to identify a way for Pope Francis\u2019 words of hope \u201cto cross the earth\u2019s borders and reach from space the greatest possible number of women and men on our troubled planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor those of us who are used to seeing space as the privileged place from which to observe the world and communicate with it without borders, it was easy to imagine a quick, humble and effective solution to offer wings to the Holy Father\u2019s message,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, Father Lucio Adrian Ruiz, said \u201cspace has a fascination for everyone, especially for young people. Space has that mystery of the universal, the deep, the magnificent, and it makes us all dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By launching Pope Francis\u2019 words of the March 27, 2020, blessing into space, the Vatican hopes to signify that the pope\u2019s prayer, blessing, and universal call to hope continue to be relevant for men and women of goodwill today, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pope Francis on Wednesday will bless a satellite that will launch his words into space on June 10. The \u201cSpes Satelles,\u201d Latin for \u201cSatellites of Hope,\u201d will be launched on a rocket taking off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. According to the Vatican, the miniaturized satellite will hold a copy of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n