Next Big Future June 30, 2023 On June 28 the Space Development Agency released a final request for proposals for its next procurement of 100 satellites as the agency continues to build out a military constellation in low Earth orbit. The Transport Layer Tranche 2 also includes 72 Beta satellites for which SDA already has requested bids. The U.S. Space Force is building a layered network of military satellites. The proliferated warfighter space architecture includes a Transport Layer of interconnected communications satellites and a Tracking Layer of missile-detection and warning sensor satellites. The first highly inclined plane of the T2TL-Alpha […]
Tag Archives: Satellites
A proactive approach to removing space junk
Phys.org October 29, 2021 Time-varying magnetic fields generate eddy currents in conductive materials with resulting forces and torques due to the interaction of the eddy currents with the magnetic field. This phenomenon has previously been used to induce drag to reduce the motion of objects as they pass through a static field or to apply force on an object in a single direction using a dynamic field. A team of researchers in the US (University of Utah, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, industry) has shown that manipulation, with six degrees of freedom, of conductive objects is possible by using multiple rotating […]
The current state of space debris
Phys.org October 12, 2020 According to the ESA Annual Space Environment Report the number of debris objects, their combined mass, and the total area they take up has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the space age. This is further fueled by a large number of in-orbit break-ups of spacecraft and rocket stages. ESA is developing and providing technologies to make debris prevention measures fail-safe through its Space Safety Program. In parallel, regulators need to monitor the status of space systems as well as global adherence to debris mitigation under their jurisdiction more closely. We can reach a sustainable use […]
Scientists find way to track space junk in daylight
Phys.org August 4, 2020 Utilizing a higher-powered laser, space debris laser ranging detects diffuse reflections from defunct satellites or rocket bodies up to 3000 km. So far space debris laser ranging was only possible within a few hours around twilight while it is dark at the satellite laser ranging station and space debris is illuminated by the sun. An international team of researchers (Austria, Spain, Germany) has extended the visible window using a combination of a telescopic detector and filter to increase the contrast of objects as they appear against the sky during the day. Overall, the new technique could […]
Using sunlight to save satellites from a fate of ‘space junk’
EurekAlert June 16, 2020 Satellites are almost always illuminated by the sun, apart from short transitions to Earth’s shadow. According to researchers at Purdue University the light that a satellite reflects can help reveal the solution to a structural malfunction. The proposed method calls for using telescopes on Earth to collect the light reflected by a satellite or one of its parts. Changes in the brightness of a “dot” over time are recorded as light curves and processed and used to extract information about an object’s appearance or rotational state. However, the more complex an object is, the harder it […]
Solving the space junk problem
Phys.org May 25, 2020 According to a team of researchers in the US (Middlebury College, University of Colorado) the current methods of capturing debris or deorbiting old satellites might motivate operators to launch more satellites—further crowding low-Earth orbit, increasing collision risk, and raising costs because they don’t change the incentives for operators. Instead, the researchers propose an international agreement to charge operators “orbital-use fees” for every satellite put into orbit. Orbital use fees would also increase the long-run value of the space industry. It could be straight-up fees or tradeable permits, and they could also be orbit-specific since satellites in […]
New Antenna Will Boost UAV Communication with Satellites
IEEE Spectrum March 10, 2020 Conventional sabre-like antennas generate a donut-shape radiation pattern, which provides an omnidirectional coverage and is ideal for air-to-ground communication. However, a donut-shape pattern has a null at its zenith which inhibits communication with other satellites. To provide signal directly above the antenna researchers in China designed a novel sabre-like antenna incorporated two metal radiators into the design. The first is a monopole, which is perpendicular to the ground with an omnidirectional pattern. The second is a dipole, which is parallel to the ground with broadside pattern – creating a signal that fills the blind spot […]
Hackers could shut down satellites–or turn them into weapons
Phys.org February 12, 2020 According to researchers at the University of Denver the lack of cybersecurity standards and regulations for commercial satellites, in the U.S. and internationally, leaves them highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. If hackers took control of the satellites, they could shut them down, deny access to their services, jam or spoof the signals from satellites, creating havoc for critical infrastructure. If hackers took control of steerable satellites, they could alter the satellites’ orbits and crash them into other satellites. Complex supply chains and layers of stakeholders, and multiple parties involved in their management means it is often not […]
Future Communication Satellite
Next Big Future March 5, 2019 The European Space Agency projected the shift from Geosynchronous satellites to medium and low earth orbit satellite constellations. This will drive large changes in the technologies that are used as well as the numbers of satellites, business models and changes to the economics of the satellite business. These satellites are only visible from within a small area (about 1000 km radius) beneath the satellite as it passes overhead. A large number of satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity. Low earth orbiting satellites are less expensive to launch into orbit than geostationary […]
X-rays might be a better way to communicate in space
Phys.org February 25, 2019 Since its inception in 1958, NASA has relied solely on radio communications to stay in contact with all of its missions beyond Earth. NASA is looking at X-ray communications (XCOM) through which more information could be sent with the same amount of transmission power, and less energy needed over long distances. X-rays can penetrate the hot plasma that builds up as spacecraft re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. NASA (Goddard Space Center) has created Modulated X-ray Source (MXS), which will be tested in the coming years. MXS will be controlled using the NavCube to send encoded […]