The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Established in 1954, the organization is based in the northwest suburbs of Geneva and has 20 European member states.

The term CERN is also used to refer to the laboratory, which employs just under 2,400 full-time employees, 1,500 part-time employees, and hosts some 10,000 visiting scientists and engineers, representing 608 universities and research facilities and 113 nationalities.

CERN's main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research - as a result, numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN following international collaborations. It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web. The main site at Meyrin has a large computer centre containing powerful data-processing facilities, primarily for experimental-data analysis; because of the need to make these facilities available to researchers elsewhere, it has historically been a major wide area networking hub.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, also designated AMS-02, is a particle physics experiment module that is mounted on the International Space Station.

It is designed to measure antimatter in cosmic rays and search for evidence of dark matter. This information is needed to understand the formation of the Universe. The principal investigator is Nobel laureate particle physicist Samuel Ting. The launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour flight STS-134 carrying AMS-02 took place on 16 May 2011, and the spectrometer was installed on 19 May 2011.

 In July 2012, reported that AMS-02 had recorded over 18 billion cosmic ray events since its installation.

In March 2013, at a seminar at CERN, Professor Samuel Ting reported that AMS had observed over 400,000 positrons, with the positron to electron fraction increasing from 10 GeV to 250 GeV but showing a slower rate of increase at higher energies. There was "no significant variation over time, or any preferred incoming direction. These results are consistent with the positrons originating from the annihilation of dark matter particles in space, but not yet sufficiently conclusive to rule out other explanations." Additional data are still being collected.

***

An AMS prototype designated AMS-01, a simplified version of the detector, was built by the international consortium and flown into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-91 in June 1998. By not detecting any antihelium the AMS-01 established an upper limit of 1.1×10⁻⁶ for the antihelium to helium flux ratio and proved that the detector concept worked in space.

Zero Point Frontiers is an engineering firm with expertise in design integration, starship engineering, system analysis, architecture development, and decision management.

At Zero Point Frontiers, we remove the "noise" from a complex system and get it down to its essence—its zero point—to ensure the correct problem is solved. After that, we can tap the right ideas and build a system that meets the need.

What We Do

• Air-Launched Rockets: Zero Point Frontiers is partnering with Virgin Galactic to define a systems engineering approach for an air-launched small satellite launch vehicle under DARPA's Air Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program.
• In-Space Architecture Tools: We are helping NASA develop automated tools that will help them calculate the mass of in-space transportation systems. Calculating the mass is the first step toward understanding how much the system will cost and how long it will take to build. ZPFC hopes to develop project management tools that will perform those functions as well.
• Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Development: ZPFC began as a NASA contractor at Marshall Space Flight Center and continues to support the SLS Program Office's planning and advanced development for the nation's heavy-lift launch vehicle.
• 3D Printing:The future of industrial development will not be defined by the factory but by desktop product printing. ZPFC is conducting internal research and development with this technology to begin prototyping low-cost space hardware.
• iOS Apps: Instarocket was just our first step into the app world. WE are continuing to define new apps for iPad and other platforms. Expect other developments soon!

Vision

Zero Point Frontiers believes that a better future begins by working on it today. We work with Space, Energy, Nanotechnology, Robotics, and Biotechnology because those technologies will interact to change the world. Starting from that "zero point," we will engineer great and cool ideas (i.e., flying cars, tricorders, R2D2, starships) to make them realities.

• Phase 0: Establish ourselves in the Space domain, identify and extract knowledge, pursue technologies, and support existing projects within NASA, DoD, and commercial environments.
• Phase 1: Mature our Space business to enter the next domain: Energy. Work both sectors simultaneously, leverage the expertise and processes we develop with Space to create a harmony between the two sectors.
• Phase 2: Develop a repeatable process for entering and establishing business in the other domains: Biotech, Robotics, and Nanotech. Become the Zero Point of all of these domains. Systematically pursue more ambitious research and development projects in all of these sectors.

Alphabus is the name given to a family of heavy geostationary communications satellites. 

Alphabus is developed by a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and EADS Astrium Satellites in France, with support of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Alphabus platform is designed for communications satellites with payload power in the range 12-18 kW. Satellites based on Alphabus will have a launch mass in the range 6 to 8 tonnes, 40% more than the most powerful Spacebus 4000.

Alphasat is the first satellite designed with this platform.

Alphasat is a European telecommunications satellite designed with the Alphabus platform.

Inmarsat awarded a contract to EADS Astrium Satellites for a first use of the platform Alphabus. The satellite is named Alphasat I-XL, and will augment Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service. The satellite will support a new generation of mobile technologies and enable communications across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

It was launched on 25 July 2013. At launch date it was one of the biggest geostationary telecom satellites.

NanoSatisfi  is an American start-up company manufacturing innovative research satellites for use by private individuals.

NanoSatisfi  sees its development  as a ' Rent-a-Satellite' company: it proposes convenient, affordable, on-demand access to satellites. NanoSatisfi began with a simple idea: access to Space should be simple, and widespread.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer.

Aerojet manufactures rocket motor, and is providing propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense, strategic, tactical missile and armaments areas in support of domestic and international markets.

Headquartered in Sacramento, California, the company is owned by GenCorp. Aerojet Rocketdyne was formed in 2013 when Aerojet and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne were merged, following the latter's acquisition by GenCorp from Pratt & Whitney. 

The Scalable SIRU™ is an inertial unit for spacecraft navigation system. It is commercialized by Northrop Grumman Corporation. 'SIRU' stands for 'Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit'.

It combines innovation and high reliability. According to Northrop Grumman Corporation it records (July 2013) 100 percent mission success in more than 22 million on-orbit hours and 147 billion miles traveled—for precision performance on space missions.

The Hemispherical Resonator Gyro (HRG) sensor on the Scalable SIRU™ is composed of three simple machined quartz parts— an outer shell, a high-Q vibrating hemispherical resonator and an inner shell. The quartz construction of the HRG is inherently stable, impervious to aging effects, and naturally radiation hardened.

Applications: The Scalable SIRU™ is performing sensor pointing/stabilization and spacecraft attitude control on demanding long-term space missions. Each of the four inertial sensor channels can be operated independently by either of the two power supply/processors, providing a probability of mission success of 0.997 for a 15-year mission. 

The hemispherical resonator gyro (HRG) is a gyroscope technology, patented and commercialised by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

The HRG is used for military and commercial space applications. It recently achieved a major milestone of 25 million hours of continuous operation without a single mission failure.

Since February 1996, the HRG has been a vital component of Northrop Grumman's Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit (Scalable SIRU™) and its predecessor, the Space Inertial Reference Unit (SIRU), which enable the stabilization, tracking and attitude control of spacecraft and satellites. The Scalable SIRU™ was instrumental in achieving the scientific objectives of several highly successful program missions, including MESSENGER, Deep Impact and Cassini.

Kondor is a series of earth imaging or military reconnaissance satellites.

The Kondor satellites are developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya for the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces and export customers. Satellites for the Russian military are designated Kondor, whilst those for export are designated Kondor-E.

Kondor satellites are equipped to carry either synthetic aperture radar or electro-optical imaging payloads, with the first satellite, and are launched using the Strela carrier rocket, developed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya from retired UR-100NUTTKh missiles.