Tag: small satellites

Britain Is Getting Ready for Its Space Race

Spurred by Brexit, London is backing companies that will build satellites and haul them into orbit. From a report: Cornwall, in England’s far southwest, is known for antique fishing villages and snug, cliff-lined beaches. Soon it may be the scene of something very different: a small but growing space industry. One day in a year or two, a modified Boeing 747…

For Space Junk Cleanup, DragRacer Satellite Will Test ‘Terminator Tape’ This Fall

schwit1 quotes Space.com: An experimental mission to test tether-based orbital debris cleanup methods with “Terminator Tape” is slated to launch this fall to test the deorbit performance of two satellites. The Millennium Space Systems mission, called DragRacer, involves two small satellites that are set to launch simultaneously to low Earth orbit (LEO) to measure how fast satellites fall out of space….

Miniature telescope demonstration focuses on sharpening view of distant objects in space

A recently deployed DARPA CubeSat seeks to demonstrate technology that could improve imaging of distant objects in space and allow powerful space telescopes to fit into small satellites. DARPA’s Deformable Mirror (DeMi) CubeSat deployed from the International Space Station July 13, beginning the technology demonstration of a miniature space telescope with a small deformable mirror called a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror….

Image: Place for space testing

ESA’s Compact Antenna Test Range at its ESTEC technical centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This anechoic chamber is used to test space antennas of 1 m across or less, or else entire small satellites. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-07-image-space.html…

Amazon Launches Space Push To Drive Cloud-Computing Growth

Amazon.com is boosting efforts to lure military and commercial space organizations as major users of its cloud-computing services, hoping to benefit from rising government spending and burgeoning private investment. From a report: The move by Amazon Web Services, the online retail giant’s cloud-computing arm, comes during a multiyear surge in U.S. military and civilian agency spending on space projects, with NASA,…

ESAIL maritime satellite ready for launch

The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships worldwide—developed under an ESA Partnership Project—has completed its accommodation on Vega’s new dispenser for small satellites and is ready for launch. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-06-esail-maritime-satellite-ready.html…

SpaceX Starlink satellites caused a stir over western Europe last night

On April 19, 2020, many in western Europe were stunned to spot a line of satellites crossing the night sky. They were the SpaceX Starlink satellites. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/spacex-starlink-satellite-over-europe-apr-19-2020…

After Two Years The Air Force’s X-37B Space Plane Finally Lands

“An unpiloted Air Force X-37B spaceplane, one of two winged orbiters used to carry out classified research, made a surprise landing at the Kennedy Space Center early Sunday to close out a record 780-day mission,” reports CBS News: It was the fifth flight in the secretive Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program, pushing total time aloft to 2,865 days. “This program continues…

Plasma Thrusters For Small Satellite Systems Hit Hyper Drive

Greg Nichols reporting for ZDNet: A company that makes propulsion systems for small satellites, Orbion Space Technology, has announced $9.2M in Series A funding. The round was led by Material Impact, a venture firm focused on translating early stage materials technologies into products and companies. Orbion has developed a very Star Trek-sounding technology that may prove to be a crucial component…