Questions tagged [artificial-satellite]
Questions about objects in orbit which are human made, such as communications and GPS satellites, orbital observatories and space stations, and other man-made object in permanent or semi-permanent orbits around the Earth, other celestial objects, aside from the Sun, or even other satellites. Not to be confused with non-orbited man-made objects in space, that are usually referred to as "probes", or simply "spacecraft".
83 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
8votes
0answers
168views
Measuring and analyzing the tumble of space debris
How well or accurately can we measure the tumble of space debris? I know that we can make ground-based measurements based on light curve data acquired by telescopes. Can tumble be measured from radar ...
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6votes
0answers
171views
What was the design failure that Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is alluding to?
I was looking through old saved urls and when an old Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory press release link didn't work, it sent me to the PageNotFound page, where I saw the image below. It seems ...
- 153k
6votes
1answer
90views
What does "Common frequency offset" plot means in gnss raw measurements?
I'm using Google's MATLAB code to analyze raw gnss measurement made with gnsslogger android app. In plots, there is one in particular that I don't understand the meaning, which is "Common ...
- 159
5votes
0answers
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What kind of solar panels did Landsat 5 use?
I would like to know everything possible about the solar panels Landsat 4/5 used. But for now, let's start with *what kind of solar panels they were. Those things survived ~150,000 thermal cycles, and ...
5votes
0answers
670views
Setting up orbit propagation in Orekit
Please forgive my ignorance, I'm new to orbital dynamics. I am using Orekit [https://www.orekit.org/] for orbital propagation in order to determine rise and set times for a MEO satellite, and am ...
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5votes
0answers
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Using electrodynamic tethers for countering precession?
One of the potential uses of electrodynamic tethers for satellites is generating thrust without needing to expend reaction mass. Could this potentially be used to counteract precession, allowing ...
- 1,284
5votes
0answers
714views
Where can I find data on satellite orbits?
I'm an enthusiast who'd like access to satellite orbital data to simulate / plot trajectories of manmade satellites (of any kind) on my home computer. Where's the best place for me to find this kind ...
- 151
5votes
0answers
120views
What are the space-based optical satellite sensors?
I was looking at a products page for Numerica Corp, and under their product MFAST it said (emphasis mine): Tracks objects in all regimes of space (e.g., LEO, MEO, HEO, GEO) using radar, ground-based ...
- 1,059
5votes
0answers
141views
Which robotic spacecraft have autonomous operation capabilities?
I am searching for an overview of autonomous space robots integrating motion planning capabilities, such as a list of robots (past and present). So far, I have found these robots: Mars exploration ...
user17898
4votes
0answers
152views
Ready-made tool for satellite maneuver detection
I am looking for a tool to detect satellite maneuvers from TLE data. The tool should be easy-to- apply (not my field at all) to many satellites, i.e., not rely on visual inspection or similar. Shorten ...
- 409
4votes
0answers
143views
Which countries have military satellites in orbit?
Which countries have active military satellite(s) in orbit? And which countries had military satellite(s) in orbit but don't have them anymore (inactive or de-orbited)? Wikipedia says: As of December ...
- 2,710
4votes
0answers
89views
What are the specifications for electrical connectors that can be used for repeated mating in space?
We’re working on an interface between satellites that when docked has to transmit power and data. The interface needs to have a port for transmitting power and data. Majority of the connectors ...
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4votes
0answers
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Why does ESA's TGO satellite not permanently serve as relay for Perseverance?
This question is about the orbital parameters of ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), so I am optimisitic that it belongs on astronomy SE. More specifically, it is about the orbital geometry of TGO ...
- 215
4votes
0answers
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What's the current state of Venus orbital infrastructure?
As per this Wikipedia article there have been a total of 5 orbiters successfully deployed to Venus: Venera-15 Venera-16 Magellan Venus Express Akatsuki Of which only the Akatsuki seems to be ...
- 191
4votes
0answers
663views
Once Starlink is fully deployed how many satellites will be visible at any given moment?
So the GPS system has 31 satellites in an orbit of 20,180 km. Most of the time there are at least 3-4 satellites 'visible' (visible from a signal reception point of view) at any given moment. The ...
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