
Copernical Team
New study provides novel insights into the cosmic evolution of amino acids

Quest for alien signals in the heart of the Milky Way takes off

AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II Mission

SpaceX Dragon carrying Axiom crew splashes down off coast of Florida

BeetleSat conducts two-way data communication using proprietary expandable antenna

China aims to make manned moon landing before 2030

Launch signals wider-opening space sector for China

Register for ESA’s first Earth observation commercialisation event

Registration is now open for ESA’s first-ever Earth Observation Commercialisation Forum. Taking place at ESA Headquarters in Paris from 30 to 31 October 2023, investors, institutions, entrepreneurs and companies of any size from the Earth observation sector will now be able to come together and discuss the commercial potential and challenges of Earth observation, together with the technical, industrial and risk-capital support available to European companies.
Researchers propose a deep neural network-based 4-quadrant analog sun sensor calibration

A spacecraft can estimate the attitude state by comparing external measurements from attitude sensors with reference information. CubeSats tend to use 4-quadrant analog solar sensors which have the advantages of extremely low power consumption, minimal volume, low complexity, low cost, and high reliability as attitude sensors, considering the limitation of satellite volume and payload. The performance of the sensor can be importantly improved by the calibration procedure and compensation model.
However, the various error sources affecting the calibration of the 4-quadrant sun sensor lead to a complicated process of compensation model establishment. Deep learning, which is widely used in the aerospace field in recent years, is able to approximate any continuous function on a bounded closed set, providing new ideas for solving the traditional problem.
In a research paper recently published in Space: Science & Technology, authors from Northwestern Polytechnical University, German Aerospace Center, and Dalian University of Technology together propose a method to calibrate sun sensors by deep learning, which not only is able to integrate the influence of various errors but also avoids the need of analyzing and modeling every single error.
Signature of industrial contracts for the consolidation of the common building blocks for future European reusable launch systems
