Ohio researchers Kassas and his research team studied the Starlink system and analyzed signals being sent by the satellites. They developed an algorithm that could use the signals of multiple satellites to locate a position on Earth. Then, they set up an antenna on the campus of UCI and tried to use the network to …
Sutter Ultra is a NASA NIAC phase 2 study to find smaller and slower asteroids up to 350 times faster than all existing surveys combined. They will use sensor configuration with many low cost, high performance Compound Telescopes with Matched Filter (CTMF) technology, arrayed into a fully integrated system. They are making a ground demo …
Elon Musk says the SpaceX Raptor engine needs to be 10X lower cost. Order of magnitude change is good reason for a new name. He says what really matters is not yet another “advanced” rocket engine. There has never been a cheap (less than $1000/Ton-force) rocket engine. The SpaceX Raptor engine will have about 250 …
A NASA NIAC Phase III is developing and plans to fly a 2022 TDM (Technology Demonstration Mission) to prove the SGLF’s (Solar Gravitational Lens Focus) mission architecture. They will then prepare a near-term (by 2024), low-cost (less than $40M) mission to fly through the solar system faster than any spacecraft ever ~7 AU/year, capable of …
The Solar System Pony Express is a global, multi-spectral, high-resolution planetary surveyor supported by regular visits from a cycler satellite network to retrieve petabits of data for transit to Earth. The “courier” satellites use optical communications to receive 1-3 petabits from the surveyor at least once per year. They then travel close to earth where …
A large rocket landing on the moon will blow the dust like regolith all over the place. The dust and regolith could damage the rocket landing and the material could even fly off into space causing damage and hazard to satellites. A NASA NIAC study is looking at putting materials into the fuel of a …
A Phase 1 NASA NIAC study to more than double the power density for deep space atomic power. This will enable far more capable deep space missions which are too far from the sun for solar power. Main investigator is E. Joseph Nemanick of The Aerospace Corporation. The Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE) …
University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon researchers have a NASA NIAC study into kilometer size structures deployable from a single SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. They are using flexible materials which would be able to expand to 150 times their packed size. They have made tiny prototypes of the planned materials and structures. They have modeled …
A NASA NIAC phase 2 is developing Titanium Nitride solar sails that would be able to perform an extremely close flyby of the sun to achieve speeds of 60 AU per year. This would be over 15 times faster than the Voyager (3.6 AU per year) spacecraft. They need to make metamaterial layers to achieve …
Phase 2 NASA NIAC study for a 1 kilometer diameter lunar crater radio telescope. The researchers have selected the best crater and worked out how to minimize the weight. They have worked out the main aspects for construction and deployment. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 …
After three days on-orbit, Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew – the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit – has safely returned to Earth in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. They splashed down under parachutes. SOURCES- SpaceX Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular …
