Mini-Satellite Test Begin on May 18
A satellite no bigger than a volleyball has lofty goals aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where its exploits could lead bigger and better robots for orbital work.
ISS Expedition 13 flight engineer Jeffrey Williams, currently aboard the station, is slated to deploy the first of three self-contained, free-flying satellites designed to hunt out a target for docking on May 18, NASA officials said.
The experiment is part of the SPHERES project led by David Miller, director of the Space Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to develop a network of mini-satellites capable of formation flying.
“To a large extent, this will give us a good shakedown to tell us that the software works,” said Jonathan How, an MIT aeronautics and astronautics associate professor participating in the study. “We’re all hoping that it works.”
The rudimentary docking tests on tap for the SPHERES project could help develop larger, more sophisticated systems to refuel satellites, coordinate positions among formation-flying space telescopes and enhance future spacecraft rendezvous systems, How told SPACE.com.
This month’s initial SPHERES tests have been a long-time coming for Miller and his team of graduate students.
The small satellites were initially slated to reach the ISS in 2004 – then ISS Expedition 8 commander Michael Foale installed a rendezvous beacon for the free flyers in the station’s Unity Node for their arrival. But the 2003 Columbia accident and subsequent shuttle delays prevented their launch. The first SPHERES unit arrived at the ISS on April 26 aboard the unmanned Russian Progress 21 cargo ship.
NASA spokesperson Kylie Clem told SPACE.com that 26 pounds (11 kilograms) of SPHERES supplies, including one satellite, 10 battery packs, seven gas cartridges, a beacon and one laptop computer are now aboard the ISS. Two additional satellites will be delivered during NASA’s STS-121 shuttle mission set to arrive at the ISS in July, she added.
Link
ISS Expedition 13 flight engineer Jeffrey Williams, currently aboard the station, is slated to deploy the first of three self-contained, free-flying satellites designed to hunt out a target for docking on May 18, NASA officials said.
The experiment is part of the SPHERES project led by David Miller, director of the Space Systems Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to develop a network of mini-satellites capable of formation flying.
“To a large extent, this will give us a good shakedown to tell us that the software works,” said Jonathan How, an MIT aeronautics and astronautics associate professor participating in the study. “We’re all hoping that it works.”
The rudimentary docking tests on tap for the SPHERES project could help develop larger, more sophisticated systems to refuel satellites, coordinate positions among formation-flying space telescopes and enhance future spacecraft rendezvous systems, How told SPACE.com.
This month’s initial SPHERES tests have been a long-time coming for Miller and his team of graduate students.
The small satellites were initially slated to reach the ISS in 2004 – then ISS Expedition 8 commander Michael Foale installed a rendezvous beacon for the free flyers in the station’s Unity Node for their arrival. But the 2003 Columbia accident and subsequent shuttle delays prevented their launch. The first SPHERES unit arrived at the ISS on April 26 aboard the unmanned Russian Progress 21 cargo ship.
NASA spokesperson Kylie Clem told SPACE.com that 26 pounds (11 kilograms) of SPHERES supplies, including one satellite, 10 battery packs, seven gas cartridges, a beacon and one laptop computer are now aboard the ISS. Two additional satellites will be delivered during NASA’s STS-121 shuttle mission set to arrive at the ISS in July, she added.
Link
posted by Michael Cottier at 7:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home