Researchers propose a deep neural network-based 4-quadrant analog sun sensor calibration
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 18:32
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.
Webb maps surprisingly large plume jetting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 14:00
Interaction between moon’s plumes and Saturn’s ring system explored with Webb
A water vapour plume from Saturn’s moon Enceladus spanning more than 9600 kilometres — long enough to stretch across the Eurasian continent from Ireland to Japan — has been detected by researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Not only is this the first time such water ejection has been seen over such an expansive distance, but Webb is also giving scientists a direct look, for the first time, at how this emission feeds the water supply for the entire system of Saturn and its rings.
DARPA launches initiative to help tech companies work on classified programs
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 12:23
DARPA's Strategic Technology Office launched an initiative called Bridges to help companies get security clearances to work on classified programs.
Orion European Service Module-4 logo
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 11:00
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Orion European Service Module-4 logo NASA inspector general faults agency on SLS booster and engine overruns
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 10:09
Conversion of shuttle-era solid rocket boosters and engines for use on the Space Launch System has cost NASA billions more and taken years longer than originally planned, the agency’s inspector general concluded.
Chinese mission with first civilian reaches space station
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030.
The world's second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia.
The Shenzhou-16 crew took off atop a Long Ma BAE Systems to develop autonomous space-based surveillance technology
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems' FAST LabsTM research and development organization a $7 million contract for the Oversight autonomous space-based target custody program.
Traditional space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) collection can be siloed, labor intensive, and unable to dynamically re-evaluate quickly enough to take a Northrop Grumman on track to produce early-warning missile defense program
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) recently completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command's Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (NGP) program. The company is on track to begin production of the early-warning missile system in defense of the nation.
The design review establishes the company's technical approach for the full i Space Systems Command Awards $45.5M Launch Service Order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation for Prototype EWS Mission
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
The U.S. Space Force's Small Launch and Targets Division's Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization, awarded a $45.5 million task order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation on May 24 via an Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract will South Korea hails successful launch of homegrown rocket
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
South Korea said Thursday it had successfully launched its homegrown Nuri rocket and placed working satellites into orbit, hailing a key step forward for the country's burgeoning space programme.
It was the third launch of the Nuri, which successfully put test satellites into orbit last year after a failed 2021 attempt saw the rocket's third-stage engine burn out too early.
The three-sta US sees 'serious threat' as Iran unveils new missile
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
The United States on Thursday called Iran's missile program a "serious threat" after the clerical state unveiled a new model with its longest range to date.
"Iran's development, and proliferation of, ballistic missiles poses a serious threat to regional and international security and remains a significant non-proliferation challenge," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Understanding boiling to help the nuclear industry and space missions
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
To launch extended missions in space, the NASA is borrowing a page from the nuclear engineering industry: It is trying to understand how boiling works. Planning for long-term missions has NASA researching ways of packing the least amount of cryogenic fuel possible for efficient liftoff. One potential solution is to refuel the rocket in space using fuel depots placed in low Earth orbits. This way What do we know about the mechanics of two-dimensional materials
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
Publishing in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, scientists from McGill University, University of Illinois, and University of Science and Technology of China comprehensively reviewed the most recent discoveries in the field of the mechanics of 2D materials by discussing various key mechanical properties, including the elastic properties, in-plane failure, fatigue, interfacial sh A milestone for parabolic flight
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
On 23 May 2023, at 09:00, a very special Airbus A310 taxied to the runway at Bordeaux-Merignac Airport. The aircraft set off on a special flight - the first of a total of three flights that make up the 40th parabolic flight campaign of the German Space Agency at DLR, which will take place in Bordeaux from 15 to 25 May 2023. On board are 11 experiments - three from the fields of biology and human Iron-rich rocks unlock new insights into Earth's planetary history
Tuesday, 30 May 2023 09:02
Visually striking layers of burnt orange, yellow, silver, brown and blue-tinged black are characteristic of banded iron formations, sedimentary rocks that may have prompted some of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history, according to new research from Rice University.
The rocks contain iron oxides that sank to the bottom of oceans long ago, forming dense layers that eventually t