Artificial satellites as a research area encompasses the scientific and engineering study of human-made objects intentionally placed into Earth or other celestial orbits for observation, communication, navigation, and experimentation. Research focuses on orbital dynamics and mission design, attitude determination and control, space environment interactions (radiation, plasma, micrometeoroids), and advanced materials and power systems for long-duration operation. It also includes development of miniaturized platforms (e.g., CubeSats), payload instrumentation for remote sensing and scientific measurements, formation flying and constellations, on-orbit servicing, autonomy and fault management, and the impacts of satellite proliferation on space traffic management and orbital debris mitigation.
ESA's Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States. This cutting-edge European experiment will test fundamental physics from the outside of ESA's Columbus module ...
Space Exploration
Mar 25, 2025
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As civilizations become more and more advanced, their power needs also increase. It's likely that an advanced civilization might need so much power that they enclose their host star in solar energy-collecting satellites. ...
Astrobiology
Mar 20, 2025
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Solar power satellite (SPS) advocates have been dreaming of using space resources to build massive constructions for decades. In-space resource utilization (ISRU) advocates would love to oblige them, but so far, there hasn't ...
Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2025
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The International Space Station supports a wide range of scientific activities, from looking out at our universe to breakthroughs in medical research, and is an active proving ground for technology for future moon exploration ...
Space Exploration
Mar 17, 2025
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20
CubeSats have a lot of advantages. They are small, inexpensive, and easily reproducible. But those advantages also come with significant disadvantages—they have trouble linking into broader constellations that allow them ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 13, 2025
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MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there.
Space Exploration
Mar 10, 2025
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69
Technicians with ESA (European Space Agency) and Airbus installed the four solar array wings on NASA's Orion spacecraft for Artemis II on March 3. The solar array wings, attached to the service module, deploy after Orion ...
Space Exploration
Mar 7, 2025
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50
Useable data is one of the most valuable tools scientists can have. The more data sources they have, the better they can make statements about their research topic. For a long time, researchers in the field of navigation ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 7, 2025
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23
Every few days now, a giant rocket blasts a fiery trail through the atmosphere, lofting satellites into orbit, carrying out space missions or performing other tasks. Since 2017, both the number of launches and the size of ...
Space Exploration
Mar 4, 2025
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42
A University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist is participating in a U.S. government effort to design a satellite and instruments capable of detecting space debris as small as 1 centimeter, less than one-half inch.
Space Exploration
Feb 27, 2025
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