Tag: CubeSats
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First interplanetary CubeSats already setting records in deep space
Artist’s concept of the MarCO CubeSats. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Two CubeSats developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched May 5 with the InSight mission to Mars have deployed their miniaturized antennas and captured a distant family portrait of the Earth and the moon. The twin spacecraft have already set a distance record for CubeSats, and they…
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Smallest interplanetary probe snaps a picture of our Pale Blue Dot (and the moon)
The nanosatellite known as MarCO-B or WALL-E took this picture of Earth and the moon from a distance of more than 620,000 miles. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Photo) You don’t have to fly beyond the orbit of Neptune to see our home planet as a Pale Blue Dot. One of the first nanosatellites to travel beyond…
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Photos: Shrouded in fog, Atlas 5 takes flight from Vandenberg
A layer of fog intruding on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California kept nearby observers from seeing any sign of Saturday’s predawn launch of an Atlas 5 rocket carrying a robotic NASA probe to Mars. The only images of the Atlas 5’s fiery takeoff came from remote cameras placed at the launch pad, or from…
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After foggy departure, it’s clear sailing to Mars for InSight lander
A fog layer at Vandenberg Air Force Base prevented nearby observers from viewing the launch of NASA’s InSight mission to Mars, but viewing points farther away from the launch site had clear skies. This long exposure photo was captured at Ventura, California. Credit: William G. Hartenstein Making a fiery climb into a foggy sky Saturday…
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Spaceflight reserves two rideshare missions on Vega rocket
Artist’s concept of the Vega rocket’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service dispenser deploying multiple satellites in orbit. Credit: ESA Spaceflight Industries has booked reservations for two commercial rideshare missions on Arianespace’s Vega rocket, officials announced Tuesday, beginning with a proof-of-concept flight in early 2019 of a new Italian-built multi-payload dispenser tailored to accommodate small satellites and…
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Rocket Lab postpones first commercial launch after issue during fueling test
Rocket Lab’s third two-stage Electron rocket on its launch pad in New Zealand last week in advance of a fueling test. Credit: Rocket Lab/Peter Beck Rocket Lab said Tuesday it will push back the first commercial launch of its light-class Electron rocket from New Zealand by a few weeks to address a problem uncovered during…
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Rocket Lab preps for first commercial satellite launch
File photo of a test-firing of Rocket Lab’s Rutherford engine. Credit: Rocket Lab Rocket Lab’s first full-up commercial launch is set for April 19, U.S. time, from the company’s privately-operated launch base in New Zealand with three U.S.-owned satellites to collect weather data. The next Electron launch will loft two satellites owned by Spire Global…
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Eutelsat plans satellite to assess potential for low-altitude constellation
Artist’s illustration of a six-unit, or 6U, CubeSat. Credit: NASA Ames Joining other established commercial geostationary satellite operators looking at fleets of communications platforms in low Earth orbit, Eutelsat announced Thursday it will launch a small testbed next year as a precursor to a potential network of data relay craft flying a few hundred miles…
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Researchers are figuring out how to pack a supercomputer into a nanosatellite
The experimental payload known as STP-H6/SSIVP is equipped with two high-resolution cameras and supercomputer-level processing power. (Pitt Photo) Putting a supercomputer in a package that’s roughly the size of a loaf of bread is one thing. Making sure the supercomputer is radiation-hardened to survive the harsh conditions of space is quite another. A team headquartered…
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NASA gears up for brisk launch pace, starting with weather satellite
The first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket set to launch NOAA’s GOES-S weather satellite was lifted atop its mobile launch platform Jan. 31 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center tasked with overseeing launches of scientific satellites and interplanetary probes…