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Domain: sstl.co.uk
Stories and comments across the archive that link to sstl.co.uk.
Stories · 7
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Mars One Studying How To Maintain Communications With Mars 24/7
braindrainbahrain writes "Mars One, the low-credibility effort to colonize Mars, is at least funding some interesting concept studies for their alleged plan to colonize the red planet. One of the most interesting is the effort to maintain uninterrupted communications with Mars. This is not as trivial as it may sound, as any satellite in Martian orbit will still have to deal with occultations between Mars and Earth due to the Sun. Surrey Satellite Technology will be performing the study." -
Tiny Cube Drags Space Debris From Orbit
krou writes "A team from Surrey Space Centre has developed a device called a CubeSail, designed to be attached to satellites and rocket stages in order to drag space debris from orbit. CubeSail is a nanosatellite, weighing 3kg (6.6lb), and measures 10cm x 10cm x 30cm. Within its frame is a polymer sheet that unfurls itself once in space. 'The simple deployment mechanism features four metal strips that are wound under tension and will snap into a straight line when let go, pulling the sheet flat in the process.' The overall idea is that 'Residual air molecules still present in the spacecraft's low-Earth orbit will catch the sheet and pull the object out of the sky much faster than is normal.' Sir Martin Sweeting, the chairman of SSTL, who supported the research, said, 'We would be looking to put it on our own satellites and to put it on other people's spacecraft as well. We want this to be a standard, essential bolt-on item for a spacecraft; and that's why it's very important to make it small, because if it's too big it will interfere with the rest of the spacecraft.' The team is also hoping that CubeSail can act as a propulsion system, using 'solar sailing' to help satellites keep their orbits more efficiently." -
Interplanetary Internet Tested In Space
Anonymous Coward writes "After Vint Cerf planned the Interplanetary Internet, there's a press release saying that the Interplanetary Internet is now being tested in space, using the Bundle Protocol developed by the Delay-Tolerant Networking Research Group. There's a conference paper with details on the testing too. These guys were previously the first to test IPv6 in space. Now they've found something with even fewer users than IPv6 to play with!" -
Router Tested On Satellite In Space
The Cisco router launched into orbit in September onboard a satellite built by SSTL (and on a Russian rocket) has now been successfully tested in space, and there's a video describing this and putting routers in space. A neat twenty-year coincidence here: an early Surrey satellite has been operating for twenty years, and Cisco launched its fastest router on its twentieth birthday. What do the next twenty years hold for fast routers in space? -
Satellite Celebrates 20 Years Working in Orbit
lloydwood writes "The UoSAT-2/UO-11 small satellite was launched into low Earth orbit on 1 March 1984 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Twenty years later, it's still in orbit and operational -- and we recently found launch footage. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of starting in orbit, the original video celebrating the UoSAT-2 launch is available (in windows media and mpeg). Thrill to the computers, the clothes, and the haircuts of 1984. SSTL has launched more than twenty satellites since." -
Nanosatellite Satellite Inspection
Richard Lancaster writes: "A couple of months ago Slashdot carried a story about the SSTL SNAP-1 spacecraft entitled "Nanosatellite Takes Out The Trash". However, SNAP-1 is a nanosatellite technology demonstrator with a primary mission objective of performing on orbit remote inspection of other spacecraft. We have now carried out our initial remote inspection mission, the results of which are here, and also made an official press release here." -
Nanosatellite Satellite Inspection
Richard Lancaster writes: "A couple of months ago Slashdot carried a story about the SSTL SNAP-1 spacecraft entitled "Nanosatellite Takes Out The Trash". However, SNAP-1 is a nanosatellite technology demonstrator with a primary mission objective of performing on orbit remote inspection of other spacecraft. We have now carried out our initial remote inspection mission, the results of which are here, and also made an official press release here."