Small satellites: Taking advantage of smartphones and other consumer technologies, tiny satellites are changing the space business
ALTHOUGH widely used, satellites are expensive to build and to launch. That began to change last year. On November 19th Orbital Sciences, an American company, launched a rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. It carried 29 satellites aloft and released them into low-Earth orbit, a record for a single mission. Thirty hours later, Kosmotras, a Russian joint-venture, carried 32 satellites into a similar orbit. Then, in January 2014, Orbital Sciences carried 33 satellites up to the International Space Station (ISS), where they were cast off a month later.
Many of these 94 satellites were built in a standard format known as a CubeSat, a 10cm (4 inch) cube weighing 1.3kg (2.9lb) or less. Some comprised units of two or three cubes. After a decade of fits and starts, during which some 75 CubeSats were launched, satellites of this scale and other small satellites are moving from being experimental kit to delivering useful scientific data and commercial services.
In the next five years or so some 1,000 nanosats, as small satellites of 1-10kg are called, are expected to be launched. Some will be smaller than a CubeSat; others bigger and heavier. Some are like a matryoshka doll: the Russian launch included a satellite that launched eight smaller ones, including four PocketQubes (a 5cm cube format). One of these smaller satellites, developed in Peru, released its own tiny bird.
Read more . . .
The Latest on: Nano satellites
via Google News
The Latest on: Nano satellites
- SpaceX’s Saturday Satellite Rocket Launch Will Make Historyon January 22, 2021 at 3:22 pm
SpaceX is targeting Saturday (January 23) to launch its first dedicated rideshare mission, known as Transporter-1, under the company’s revamped “space Uber” program carrying nearly 100 satellites. The ...
- SpaceX plans record-breaking launch with 143 satelliteson January 22, 2021 at 10:49 am
SpaceX plans to launch the most satellites ever deployed in a single mission, 143, on Saturday morning from Florida for more than a dozen customers.
- A new frontier in space dealson January 21, 2021 at 9:56 am
From startups to prime contractors, M&A in aerospace shows Colorado companies at the fore of a changing industry.
- Targeting Targeted Individualson January 20, 2021 at 1:35 pm
All we can do, Scully, is pull the thread, see what unravels.” — Fox Mulder, The X-Files Far on the outer fringes of Fort Worth are people who believe they’re being zapped by military satellites ...
- Nano Satellite Market Worth Observing Growth : PLANET LABS, Clyde Space, Sierra Nevadaon January 20, 2021 at 10:10 am
Stay up-to-date with Nano Satellite Market research offered by HTF MI. Check how key trends and emerging drivers are shaping this industry growth.
- Britain readies for lift off in the great satellite space raceon January 17, 2021 at 10:00 am
Brexit Britain has autonomy in cutting-edge space technologies - and the means to stimulate the economy - is set to take shape here, beside an abandoned fishing settlement in the North Atlantic.
- Nano Dimension Interview to Air on Bloomberg International on the RedChip Money Reporton January 15, 2021 at 2:22 pm
In the exclusive interview, Stern discusses Nano Dimension’s game-changing fabrication technology and plans for growth. To view the interview segment, please visit: “The RedChip Money Report” ...
- Nano Dimension stocks soar thanks to 3D printing technologyon January 15, 2021 at 11:23 am
Nano Dimension stocks soar thanks to their now patented DragonFly LDM™ 3D printing technology, specifically designed for industry 4.0.
- Frank Marshall Estates reveals why small industrial employment parks are the futureon January 13, 2021 at 10:06 pm
Property developer Frank Marshall Estates has revealed plans to roll out its Nano Park concept in Kirklees after completing a successful pilot model.
- Developer to construct more ‘small but perfectly formed’ work spaceson January 13, 2021 at 3:36 am
A property developer is looking to roll out its “Nano Park” concept into Kirklees, West Yorkshire. Frank Marshall Estates’ Nano Park model creates small employment spaces, providing an ideal base for ...
via Bing News
