Tag Archives: space

NASA’s NEXT ion thruster runs five and a half years nonstop to set new record

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NEXT is a solar electric propulsion system where electricity from the spacecraft’s solar panels is used to power a a 7-kW class ion thruster. In this, particles of xenon gas are electrically charged and then accelerated to speeds up to 90,000 mph (145,000 km/h). Such thrusters have already been used on spacecraft, such as NASA’s Dawn probe, and engineers are very interested in them because of their much higher performance compared to conventional chemical rocket engines.

via NASA’s NEXT ion thruster runs five and a half years nonstop to set new record.

NASA’s system for avoiding collisions with space junk

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Potential collisions are flagged for monitoring if there’s simply a high probability of conjunction. Typically, the probability goes down after a couple of additional days of tracking, but in rare cases this doesn’t happen (and, in a few, the probability went up with further monitoring). When the probability doesn’t go down, the software can calculate a maneuver that will reduce the probability of collision to an acceptable level. The solution will take into account other potential hazards as well as mission requirements—some Earth-monitoring satellites can’t orbit above a certain altitude and still perform their jobs.

via Saving Fermi: NASA’s system for avoiding collisions with space junk | Ars Technica.

European scientists propose world’s largest quantum network, between Earth and the ISS

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In recent years, quantum physicists have successfully teleported entangled photons over a free-space distance of 143 kilometers (89 miles) using lasers, and 250 kilometers (155 miles) over optical fiber in the lab. In the past year we have also seen the first ground-to-air network, between a base station and an airplane flying 20 kilometers (12 miles) above. These were impressive feats, but to prove the possibility of a worldwide, satellite-based quantum network, larger distances are needed — something like the 400 kilometers (248 miles) to the ISS.

via European scientists propose world’s largest quantum network, between Earth and the ISS | ExtremeTech.

Europa Clipper

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The Europa Clipper mission would place a spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter in order to perform a detailed investigation of the giant planet’s moon Europa — a world that shows strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust and which could host conditions favorable for life. The Europa Clipper mission would send a highly capable, radiation-tolerant spacecraft into a long, looping orbit around Jupiter to perform repeated close flybys of Europa.

via Europa Clipper – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Bigelow Aerospace

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Developing an astronaut corps and conducting operations aboard a space station can dramatically transform a nation’s image both internally and externally. The creation of jobs and lucrative economic opportunities via microgravity research, development, and manufacturing can inspire a new cadre of domestic scientists and engineers while attracting the best and brightest minds from around the world to a country’s universities and companies.

via Bigelow Aerospace.

Per the information above, utilizing a Falcon 9 and Dragon, for only $51.25 million, a client can travel to the Alpha Station for two months and enjoy dominion over 110 cubic meters of volume for 60 days.

China’s radical new space drive

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It may not sound very much, less than three ounces, but in space a little thrust goes a long way. Boeing’s advanced XIPS thruster, which fires out Xenon ions at high speed, generates less than a quarter as much thrust from twice as much power. It’s used to maintain satellites in position, or move them to a slightly different orbit. Crucially, Xips weights about twenty kilos, more than an equivalent EmDrive, and the propellant for prolonged operation can weigh much more.

via EmDrive: China’s radical new space drive (Wired UK).

Mars rover Opportunity now in 10th year

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NASA’s Opportunity rover landed on Mars the night of Jan. 24, 2004 PST (just after midnight EST on Jan. 25), three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. Spirit stopped operating in 2010, but Opportunity is still going strong, helping scientists better understand the Red Planet’s wetter, warmer past.

via Mars rover Opportunity now in 10th year – Technology & science – Space – Space.com | NBC News.

I love this story because the requirements for these rovers only called for 3 months operation.  That is what they call exceeding expectations!

Inside NASA’s Deal for Inflatable Space Station Room

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The new inflatable BEAM will be launched to the International Space Station by a Falcon 9 rocket built by another private spaceflight company, California-based SpaceX. The module will be cocooned inside the unpressurized cargo hold of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule atop the Falcon 9. NASA has already purchased the launch of the SpaceX Falcon under a separate Commercial Resupply Services contract.

via Inside NASA’s Deal for Inflatable Space Station Room.

This site is always fascinated with the technology of space.  Here’s an interesting tour of the International Space Station.

Finding the Source of the Pioneer Anomaly

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These spacecraft also underscore the value of data preservation. In the early days of the Pioneer missions, scientists and engineers often viewed the medium as more valuable than the data it contained. Many considered raw data to be worthless once “useful” scientific and technical information had been extracted. Nowadays data storage may be cheap, but we’re still in danger of suffering from shortsightedness when it comes to data custodianship. Every experiment needs a clear plan in place to ensure that a record of the original observations is still available and readable, even decades into the future. It may very well be the only way we’ll resolve the next confounding mystery.

via Finding the Source of the Pioneer Anomaly – IEEE Spectrum.