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.
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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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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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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The first metal 3D part ever created in orbit has landed on Earth.
Space Exploration
Feb 27, 2025
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The second of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites and the first instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission are fully integrated and, having completed their functional and environmental tests, they are now ...
Space Exploration
Feb 24, 2025
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As more satellites, telescopes, and other spacecraft are built to be repairable, it will take reliable trajectories for service spacecraft to reach them safely. Researchers in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in The ...
Space Exploration
Feb 14, 2025
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52
Before arriving at the moon, the small satellite mission will use the gravity of the sun, Earth, and moon over several months to gradually line up for capture into lunar orbit.
Space Exploration
Feb 14, 2025
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47
Year after year, humanity is setting new records for the amount of stuff we're sending into the Earth's orbit, spurred mostly by Starlink's orbital domination. We're getting more eyes (satellites) on the sky, but we're also ...
Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2025
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35
Blue tentacle-like arms attached to an Astrobee free-flying robot grab onto a "capture cube" in this image from Feb. 4, 2025. The experimental grippers demonstrated autonomous detection and capture techniques that may be ...
Space Exploration
Feb 7, 2025
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48
Sailing has been a mainstay of human history for millennia, so it's no surprise that scientists would apply it to traveling in space. Solar sailing, the most common version, uses pressure from the sun to push spacecraft with ...
Space Exploration
Feb 3, 2025
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