Cubesat

What is a CubeSat — Satellites are usually huge, expensive, chunky things and certainly wouldn’t fit in a suitcase. But a CubeSat would. At its heart a CubeSat is a miniature sized, fully functional, cube shaped satellite. While these CubeSats may not be able to do some ground breaking science they are still quite incredible. …

Earth-Mars Payments System: EMPS We’ll need a financial connection between Mars and Earth at some time, won’t we? Classic cross-boarder payment systems are unsuitable due to their thousands of bank-node chains… Well, we can build a chain of satellite banking nodes, but, this way, they will definitely require an autonomous work! If you did…

A team of engineers is advancing lasercom technology to meet the rising needs and speed of the space domain. — Increased activities in space require moving faster, lighter and with higher precision. While space communications have traditionally relied on transmitting information via radio waves, The Aerospace Corporation is facilitating laser communication (lasercom) research and development. Previously, two AeroCubes successfully transmitted data via lasercom systems for the first time — a…

When a space mission leaves the Earth’s vicinity, we say that it is a deep-space or interplanetary mission. All missions that study the planets, asteroids, comets, and the solar wind in situ and the Solar System at large are considered deep-space missions. Nanospacecraft are satellites whose mass is at most…

“Honey, I shrunk the Satellites……” A satellite the size of a shoebox was introduced in 1999 by two professors: Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic State University and Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. They were trying to help students gain engineering experience in satellites, which are traditionally expensive to build and…

Since 1999, The Aerospace Corporation has been a pioneer in the design, construction and flight of ultrasmall satellites. Learn more about the timeline of our past and future satellites. — The Aerospace Corporation began pioneering the design, construction and flight of ultrasmall satellites in 1999, developing an inexpensive, lightweight spacecraft that used the latest miniaturized electronics and microelectromechanical systems.

Aerospace has been at the forefront of CubeSat technology and the miniaturization of satellites since before the CubeSat standard was established — flying the world’s first containerized satellite over 20 years ago. — The accelerating pace of space innovation has transformed what humans once thought possible about reaching orbit, the moon, and beyond. The proliferation of small satellites and their increasing popularity have been major catalysts for this revolution. …

This new CubeSat could provide information about the high-altitude molecular oxygen density of the Earth’s atmosphere for more precise tracking of satellites on orbit. — Reliance on space-based capabilities to enable essential services including navigation, weather monitoring and communications, are fundamental to modern technology. …

A renewed interest in launch rideshares for small satellites is enabling more frequent opportunities to reach orbit at a competitive price. We look at who’s involved and what’s next for the industry. — Generally, rockets go to space to place satellites with a payload, like a camera or radio, for observation or communication. Around they year 2000, it became increasingly easy to make small, inexpensive satellites to rideshare into space as part of a larger satellite launch.