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Mars Base

DARPA Seeks Ideas to Recycle Space Junk Into New Satellites | Space Junk & Orbital Debr... - 0 views

www.space.com/ycling-phoenix-satellites.html

scibyte34 satellites debris

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • : 20 October 2011
  • United States Department of Defense is looking for ways to repurpose space junk
  • started a program called Phoenix, which seeks to recycle still-functioning pieces of defunct satellites and incorporate them into new space systems on the cheap
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • snag still-working antennas from the many retired and dead satellites in geosynchronous orbit — about 22,000 miles (35,406 kilometers) above Earth — and attach them to smaller "satlets," or nanosatellites, launched from Earth.
  • tender vehicle would cruise over to a satlet, pluck it out of its housing and ferry it to the appropriate defunct satellite. The tender would then switch the antenna over from the retired satellite to the satlet, creating a "new," and relatively cheap, satellite using previously useless space junk.
  • Satellites in GEO are not designed to be disassembled or repaired, so it's not a matter of simply removing some nuts and bolts
  • requires new remote imaging and robotics technology and special tools to grip, cut, and modify complex systems
Mars Base

Robot Space 'Gas Attendant' Could Salvage Old Satellites by 2015 | Satellite Refueling ... - 0 views

www.space.com/ation-satellite-refueling.html

scibyte34 satellite

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • middle of the decade
  • possible to salvage satellites that run out of fuel or suffer minor malfunctions in orbit
  • Canada-based aerospace firm
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • designing a spacecraft that will serve as an orbiting gas station and mechanic.
  • will be able to top off satellites' fuel tanks
  • perform minor repairs as needed
  • first servicing satellite could be ready to go by 2015 or 2016
  • Currently, most satellites last only as long as their stores of onboard propellant allow
  • When a spacecraft runs out of fuel, it essentially turns into a very expensive piece of space junk, adding to the massive cloud of debris already clogging Earth orbit.
  • servicing spacecraft would be controlled from the ground
  • could operate with varying degrees of autonomy
  • when the SIS spacecraft itself runs low on fuel, a separately launched "tanker" would replenish its supply of propellant, allowing the vehicle to continue servicing satellites far into the future.
  • MDA thought it found that customer last year.
  • However, the two companies announced last month that the deal is off
  • I guess we were not able to meet those datelines for the original plan, due to various factors
  • isn't the only business or organization working to develop satellite-servicing technology
  • Aerospace firm Vivisat, for example, is designing a spacecraft called the Mission Extension Vehicle, which would dock to satellites and provide propulsion and attitude control.
  • The U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has started a program called Phoenix, which seeks to recycle still-functioning pieces of defunct satellites and incorporate them into new space systems for low cost.
  • 16 February 2012
Mars Base

NASA - Historic Handshake for Robonaut 2 - 0 views

www.nasa.gov/...r2_handshake.html

scibyte34 robonaut

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Following the tests, R2 was powered down and put back into storage until time for the robot’s next task
  • The suite of cameras in its head not only provide R2’s operators in space and on the ground with a view of what it’s working on, they can also be used by the robot to verify the configuration of a switch its flipped or ensure that other work it has done is correct
  • After the vision characterization, the robot will be able to work with the taskboards sent into space
Mars Base

NASA - Robonaut 2 - 0 views

www.nasa.gov/...robonaut.html

scibyte34 robonaut

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Robonaut 2 completed its initial checkouts on board the International Space Station Wednesday, February 15, 2012
  • history with the first human/robotic handshake to be performed in space
  • message sent down in sign language. “Hello World,” the robot signed in American sign language
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • launched to the International Space Station almost a year ago
Mars Base

Robonaut: Home - 0 views

robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp

scibyte34 robonaut

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • A Robonaut is a dexterous humanoid robot
  • challenge is to build machines that can help humans work and explore in space
  • Working side by side with humans, or going where the risks are too great for people
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • expand our ability for construction and discovery
  • capability we call dexterous manipulation
  • currently four Robonauts
  • others currently in development
  • The value of a humanoid over othe
  • designs is the ability to use the same workspace and tools - not only does this improve efficiency in the types of tools, but also removes the need for specialized robotic connectors
  • Robonaut 2 or R2, launched to the International Space Station on space shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-133 mission
  • first dexterous humanoid robot in space
  • deployed on a fixed pedestal inside the ISS
  • Next steps include a leg for climbing through the corridors of the Space Station, upgrades for R2 to go outside into the vacuum of space, and then future lower bodies like legs and wheels to propel the R2 across Lunar and Martian terrain
Mars Base

Spray-on Antennas Make Their Mark - SIGNAL Magazine - 0 views

www.afcea.org/...SIGNAL_Article_Template.asp

scibyte34 spray-on-antenna

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • July 2001
  • radio antennas that are sprayed onto a surface
  • consist of a conductive substance sprayed over a template with a radio aerial pattern on
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • the antenna material is available in the form of metal-based paints such as nickel or silver and carbon-graphite-based paints. To create an antenna, a template is placed on the desired surface, the paint is sprayed over it and a connector is attached.
Mars Base

Spray-on antenna gets great reception at Google event - 0 views

www.physorg.com/...na-great-reception-google.html

scibyte34 spray-on-antenna

shared by Mars Base on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • A Utah startup has introduced a spray-on signal booster in a can that promises an improved signal
  • tested the spray on a tree, among other tests, and the team was able to send a VHF signal up to 14 miles away using only the treated tree
  • promoting it as a multi-purpose antenna, simple and quick to assemble, mountable on almost any surface, for use in any environment. "Any" bears quite a range of possible end uses.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • upbeat over successful tests that were run to examine the spray's signal performance underwater
  • is not to say the idea of a spray-on antenna on surfaces does not have a history
  • February 14, 2012
  • could be used by weather and oceanographic researchers and underwater welders.
Mars Base

Dead Spacecraft on Mars Spotted in New Photos | Phoenix Mars Lander, Spirit & Opportuni... - 0 views

www.space.com/aft-photos-spirit-phoenix.html

Archeology

shared by Mars Base on 14 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Mars Base on 14 Feb 12
     
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