NEW YORK: US government body Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and NASA have teamed up to build robotic technology that can refuel and repair friendly satellites.
"Service stations in orbit" -- name given to these robotic satellites -- would not only refuel satellites but also drastically improve their longevity and lifespan.
According to a report in Futurism, the robots could fix minor maintenance issues, keeping up with current orbiters as they age and sustain damage.
The agencies also hope to keep the orbit clear of debris called space pollution which is caused by broken satellites abandoned in the space.
In 2015, there were about 25,000 human-made objects larger than a human fist and roughly half a million larger than a dime orbiting Earth.
Additionally, these satellites could also face off against mechanical foes in orbit meaning it could sabotage enemy satellites in the event of war, apparently by dismantling opponents or forcing them to crash.
They could also play defence, monitoring for tampering, the report highlighted.
Monday, 1 January 2018
Next-generation robots to repair satellites, reduce space pollution
Tuesday, 26 December 2017
NASA astronauts watch "Star Wars: Last Jedi" in space
Could there be a better place to watch adventures that take place in a galaxy far, far away?
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station astronauts got their chance to watch "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," NASA said, enjoying an an out-of-this-world movie night.
Astronaut Mark Vande Hei tweeted out a photo of the orbital screening that showed five of the six members of the ISS crew in "bungee-cord chairs" and sporting drinks in bags. Not quite your typical night out at the local cineplex.
Vande Hei didn"t identify the movie, noting only that it was a "science fiction flick." However, fans might recognize a certain Poe Dameron on the screen.
Dan Huot, a NASA spokesman, confirmed in an email the film was"The Last Jedi."
Crew members "typically get movies as digital files and can play them back on a laptop or a standard projector that is currently aboard," Huot said earlier this month.
Fans offered up some fun reactions to the spacey screening.
https://twitter.com/TheisJoseph/status/945133253471625216
https://twitter.com/TriggerZappy/status/944867210790690821
https://twitter.com/radudotcimpian/status/944974127273623552
Fittingly, three Star Wars droids, the Millennium Falcon and even the Death Star appear on a recent ISS mission patch.
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Dream Chaser completes the first flight in four years
Last Saturday, Dream Chaser, the Sierra Nevada spacecraft completed a major milestone in its development. It successfully completed a free flight test. The spaceship was carried high up by helicopter and then dropped. The Dream Chaser was able to fly back to the landing area at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The corporation that owns the spacecraft confirmed rumours of the test by sending out a tweet the same night. The tweet is given below.
“The Dream Chaser had a beautiful flight and landing!”
The company failed to supply more information about the test. However, it said they would be releasing more information in the following week.
A little history on the Dream Chaser
The last time the spacecraft tried a free flight test was back in 2013. It was a failure as there was a problem with the deployment of its left landing gear, causing the plane to skid off the runway and leading to minor damage. This makes it a major achievement for the spacecraft and its manufacturer, Sierra Nevada Corporation.
At that time, the Dream Chaser was competing with Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft as entrants in NASA’s commercial crew competition. NASA did not choose Sierra Nevada Corporation’s vehicle. The reason was that NASA didn’t think the spacecraft could be finished by 2017.
The company did not give up and instead tried to join NASA as a commercial cargo deliverer. When NASA announced a new round of multi-billion dollar contracts in 2016 to supply the International Space Station with food, water, and scientific research from late 2019 through 2024, this spacecraft was able to clinch a spot. NASA liked how flexible the Dream Chaser was.
The Dream Chaser spent the last couple of years having its insides reconfigured to accommodate cargo. It has now completed its test and seems to be able to fly on 2019 to space.
Monday, 16 October 2017
SpaceX aims to land Spaceships on Mars by 2022
Elon Musk has spoken more about his envisioned plan to colonize the planet of Mars. The owner of Tesla says he is aiming to land a minimum of 2 cargo ships on Mars by the year 2022; a mere five years away. These cargo ships will put in place power generators as well as mining and life support frameworks that will assist endeavours. He further added that ships with crew members will reach two years after that. Musk revealed these plans during the International Astronautical Congress set in Australia.
In order to reach these deadlines, the rocket company will start building the first of its spaceships by mid 2018. The rocket is called the BFR, an abbreviation for Big Falcon Rocket. It is made by SpaceX. In the event that Musk reaches his deadlines, the people who look to live in Mars will go there in comfort thanks to the BFR. It can take up to one hundred passengers thanks to its 40 cabins. The rocket will also house many common areas and an entertainment system.
Elon Musk claims that his SpaceX company has figured out ways to pay for these expensive trips but he chose not to reveal any information about the methods or the cost of everything. The company currently focuses on launching satellites and services and maintains the International Space Station and they think they can make enough money from these ventures to sponsor their goals of colonizing Mars. They are also looking into ways of making the rocket reusable. This can help reduce the overall cost associated with the missions.
The CEO has grand plans that surpass his goal of exploring the Red Planet. He says he wants to make use of the rockets to establish a base on the moon. He refers to this as Moon Base Alpha. Another goal of his plan is to use the Big Falcon Rocket to clean up the outer space. He hopes to do this by taking old unused satellites and other debris that floats in the space outside Earth.
As he continued his presentation, Musk spoke about using rockets right on Earth to cover large distances in extremely short time spans. This means one could go from New York to China’s capital in an astounding thirty nine minutes.
Of course, there are many other companies that have their eyes set on putting crews on Mars. NASA, Boeing and Lockheed have all revealed plans to send crew members to the Red Planet.
Sunday, 15 October 2017
World View successfully launches near space balloon from its new HQ
World View Enterprises launched their first near space balloon today. This happened at Spaceport Tucson, which is located in Arizona, which will be the lift off base for satellite like “Stratollite” missions. Over time, the company hopes to start flights for tourists too. The balloon will reach all the way to the stratosphere. Spaceport Tucson is the first facility of its kind. It was built with the sole purpose of sending flights and balloons up to the stratosphere.
Info on the near space balloon
World View Enterprises currently handles the entire Spaceport Tucson facility. They do this on behalf of Arizona’s Pima County who built the headquarters, the producing facilities as well as a round launching area which has a diameter of 215 meters. This was done in a deal worth over fifteen million US Dollars and was signed back in 2016. This deal was stuck in the midst of a lot of legal issues that lasted for more than a year. The Headquarters was declared early this year in the month of February. However the small start up has spent the last few months prepping the compound for day to day operations which climaxed at the take off of its balloon.
World View co-founder and CEO Jane Poynter says that they have obtained the Certificate of Authorization from the Federal Aviation Department which paved the way and enabled today’s debut test to be carried out.
The four year old start up is looking to start a new market in the business of commercial space. Its innovative super high altitude balloon can keep itself in the up most section of our planet’s atmosphere. From there it can be used for scientific uses, to observe places and things and so on. The balloons are said to rise up to a height of thirty thousand five hundred meters or even more. For a comparison, this is almost three times more than the height that a typical airline flies at.
Monday, 13 March 2017
How to Fix “Insufficient Space Downloading Error” On Android
Android is a very smart device which provides lots of feature for its user. An Android operating system is most widely used in the world. And there are lots of apps that is being developed to run on this OS that makes it more user friendly and we download all these apps in our android device from Google Play Store and sometimes you got an error “Error Downloading There is Insufficient Space on the Device” this error can because due to certain reason which can be solved with the tips discussed below. So proceed with this post of Fix Insufficient Space Downloading Error on Android.
How to Fixing “Insufficient Space Downloading Error” on Android
Methods To Fix “Insufficient Space Downloading Error” on Android
#1 Method: Updating Google Play Store
- Open the Google Play Store in your android device.
- Swipe from left to right in the app.
- Now you will see the list of options there.
- Click on settings there.
- Now scroll down at last and click on Build Number.
- Now as soon as you click the build number a pop-up will appear.
- If your app is up to date then it will Show the message “Google Play Store is up to date“.
- If not then it will display the latest version to install.
- Click on that latest version and your app will get automatically updated
#2 Method: Clearing Google Play Store Cache
- Go to settings->apps.
- Now tap on play store there.
- Tap on Clear cache and then click OK.
#3 Method: Move apps From device to SD card
- Go to settings->apps.
- Tap on the app that you want to move to SD card.
- Click on a move to SD card.