TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
December 7, 2024
Rocket Engine Fireplace
You might not think a close up view of rocket engines producing 8.8 million pounds of thrust would be relaxing, but here it can be. In fact, you can get a warm and cozy feeling just spending a few moments watching NASA's holiday rocket engine fireplace. The video features a loop of the Space Launch System rocket's RS-25 main engines throttled up and running flanked by solid rocket boosters and framed by a stone fireplace. The accompanying audio track mixes the drastically muted sounds of the rocket engines firing with the more familiar sounds of a burning, crackling wood fire. AI elements are included in the composed video along with an image and logo from the Artemis I mission. The Artemis I uncrewed mission to the Moon and back again launched in November 2022 on a Space Launch System rocket.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA’s IXPE Details Shapes of Structures at Newly Discovered Black Hole
Dec 06, 2024
NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) has helped astronomers better understand the shapes of structures essential to a black hole – specifically, the disk of material swirling around it, and the shifting plasma region called the corona.
The stellar-mass black hole, part of the binary system Swift J1727.8-1613, was discovered in the summer of 2023 during an unusual brightening event that briefly caused it to outshine nearly all other X-ray sources.
It is the first of its kind to be observed by IXPE as it goes through the start, peak, and conclusion of an X-ray outburst like this.
Swift J1727 is the subject of a series of new studies published in The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy & Astrophysics. Scientists say the findings provide new insight into the behavior and evolution of black hole X-ray binary systems.
“This outburst evolved incredibly quickly,” said astrophysicist Alexandra Veledina, a permanent researcher at the University of Turku, Finland. “From our first detection of the outburst, it took Swift J1727 just days to peak.
By then, IXPE and numerous other telescopes and instruments were already collecting data. It was exhilarating to observe the outburst all the way through its return to inactivity.”
Until late 2023, Swift J1727 briefly remained brighter than the Crab Nebula, the standard X-ray “candle” used to provide a baseline for units of X-ray brightness.
Such outbursts are not unusual among binary star systems, but rarely do they occur so brightly and so close to home – just 8,800 light years from Earth.
The binary system was named in honor of the Swift Gamma-ray Burst Mission which initially detected the outburst with its Burst Alert Telescope on Aug. 24, 2023, resulting in the discovery of the black hole.
X-ray binary systems typically include two close-proximity stars at different stages of their lifecycle. When the elder star runs out of fuel, it explodes in a supernova, leaving behind a neutron star, white dwarf, or black hole.
In the case of Swift J1727, the powerful gravity of the resulting black hole stripped material from its companion star, heating the material to more than 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit and producing a vast outpouring of X-rays.
This matter formed an accretion disk and can include a superheated corona. At the poles of the black hole, matter also can escape from the binary system in the form of relativistic jets.
IXPE, which has helped NASA and researchers study all these phenomena, specializes in X-ray polarization, the characteristic of light that helps map the shape and structure of such ultra-powerful energy sources, illuminating their inner workings even when they’re too distant for us to see directly.
“Because light itself can’t escape their gravity, we can’t see black holes,” Veledina said. “We can only observe what is happening around them and draw conclusions about the mechanisms and processes that occur there. IXPE is crucial to that work.”
Two of the IXPE-based studies of Swift J1727, led by Veledina and Adam Ingram, a researcher at Newcastle University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, focused on the first phases of the outburst.
During the brief period of months when the source became exceptionally bright, the corona was the main source of observed X-ray radiation.
“IXPE documented polarization of X-ray radiation traveling along the estimated direction of the black hole jet, hence the hot plasma is extended in the accretion disk plane,” Veledina said.
“Similar findings were reported in the persistent black hole binary Cygnus X-1, so this finding helps verify that the geometry is the same among short-lived eruptive systems.”
The team further monitored how polarization values changed during Swift J1727’s peak outburst. Those conclusions matched findings simultaneously obtained during studies of other energy bands of electromagnetic radiation.
A third and a fourth study, led by researchers Jiří Svoboda and Jakub Podgorný, both of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, focused on X-ray polarization at the second part of the Swift J1727’s outburst and its return to a highly energetic state several months later.
For Podgorný’s previous efforts using IXPE data and black hole simulations, he recently was awarded the Czech Republic’s top national prize for a Ph.D. thesis in the natural sciences.
The polarization data indicated that the geometry of the corona did not change significantly between the beginning and the end of the outburst, even though the system evolved in the meantime and the X-ray brightness dropped dramatically in the later energetic state.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/ixpe/nasas-ixpe-details-shapes-of-structures-at-newly-discovered-black-hole/
NASA Accelerates Space Exploration, Earth Science for All in 2024
Dec 06, 2024
With a look back at 2024, NASA is celebrating its many innovative and inspiring accomplishments this year including for the first time, landing new science and technology on the Moon with an American company, pushing the boundaries of exploration by launching a new mission to study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa; maintaining 24 years of continuous human exploration off the Earth aboard the International Space Station, and unveiling the first look at its supersonic quiet aircraft for the benefit of humanity.
The agency also shared the wonder of a total eclipse with millions of Americans, conducted the final flight of its Ingenuity helicopter on the Red Planet, demonstrated the first laser communications capability in deep space, tested the next generation solar sail in space, made new scientific discoveries with its James Webb Space Telescope, completed a year-long Mars simulation on Earth with crew, announced the newest class of Artemis Generation astronauts, and much more.
“In 2024, NASA made leap after giant leap to explore, discover, and inspire – all while bringing real, tangible, and substantial benefits to the American people and to all of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“We deepened the commercial and international partnerships that will help NASA lead humanity back to the Moon and then to the red sands of Mars.
We launched new missions to study our solar system and our universe in captivating new ways.
We observed our changing Earth through our eyes in the sky – our ever-growing fleet of satellites and instruments – and shared that data with all of humanity.
And we opened the doors to new possibilities in aviation, new breakthroughs on the International Space Station, and new wonders in space travel.”
Through its Moon to Mars exploration approach, the agency continued moving forward with its Artemis campaign, including progress toward its first mission around the Moon with crew in more than 50 years and advancing plans to explore more of the Moon than ever before.
So far in 2024, 15 countries signed the Artemis Accords, committing to the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of space with the United States.
As part of efforts to monitor climate change, the agency launched multiple satellites to study our changing planet and opened its second Earth Information Center to provide data to a wider audience.
With the release of its latest Economic Impact Report, NASA underscored the agency’s $75.6 billion impact on the U.S. economy, value to society, and return on investment for taxpayers.
“To invest in NASA is to invest in American workers, American innovation, the American economy, and American economic competitiveness.
Through continued investments in our workforce and our infrastructure, NASA will continue to propel American leadership on Earth, in the skies, and in the stars,” said Nelson.
Key 2024 agency highlights across its mission areas include:
Preparing for Moon, Mars
Observing, Learning About Earth
Exploring Our Solar System, Universe
Living, Conducting Research in Space
Imagining Future Flight
Improving Life on Earth, in Space with Technology
Growing Global Partnerships
Celebrating Total Solar Eclipse
Building Low Earth Orbit Economy
Inspiring Artemis Generation of STEM Students
Reaching New, Future Explorers
cont.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-accelerates-space-exploration-earth-science-for-all-in-2024/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvjzva-q58Y
Don't let Hillary and the DoS find out
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-jpl-unveils-the-dr-edward-stone-exploration-trail/
NASA JPL Unveils the Dr. Edward Stone Exploration Trail
Dec. 6, 2024
A series of plaques stretching through the heart of the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers highlights of the space explorer’s career and the Voyager mission he led.
Family members, colleagues, and local dignitaries gathered on Friday, Dec. 6, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for the unveiling of a memorial honoring Ed Stone, best known as the longtime project scientist of the agency’s Voyager mission.
Stone died in June 2024 at age 88 after leading the mission for half a century and leading JPL for a decade.
Stretching through the heart of the lab, the Dr. Edward Stone Exploration Trail traces the arc of Stone’s distinguished career and the long journeys of the twin Voyager space probes.
Designed with simple line drawings, 24 disc-shaped plaques along the trail offer career and mission highlights while evoking the Golden Record aboard both spacecraft.
Launched in the summer of 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 have since traveled more than 15.4 billion and 12.9 billion miles (24 billion and 20 billion kilometers), respectively — farther than any other human-made object.
The plaques trace their trajectories to Jupiter and Saturn as well as their diverging paths, with Voyager 2 heading toward Uranus and Neptune as Voyager 1 made a beeline for interstellar space.
Other stops along the trail honor Stone’s work creating the W.M. Keck Observatory in 1985, his appointment as JPL’s director in 1991, and his being honored with the Distinguished Service Award 2013.
“To follow in the footsteps of Ed Stone is to walk the path of an extraordinary person who dedicated his time on Earth to reaching for the stars, and who paved the way for others to do the same,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL.
“This trail is a testament to Ed’s bold curiosity, visionary leadership, and passion for science that have enabled us to explore farther into the cosmos than ever before. It’s also a reminder of his influence on so many of our endeavors to reach new frontiers in space.”
Blazing a Trail
Stone’s penchant for walking was one of the topics that came up when members of JPL’s Office of the Director, its DesignLab, and the Voyager team began discussing ways to honor his outsize contributions to JPL and science.
From those initial brainstorming sessions came the question, “How can we do something to memorialize him at JPL that gets people to walk?” recalled DesignLab’s graphic manager, Lauren Shapiro.
The distances between the plaques are roughly proportional the distances between the events they highlight, and the team even tried to make flight trajectories of the probes as accurate as possible, given the challenges of avoiding buildings and the like.
Designer Kaelyn Richards relied on the Voyager Golden Record as a guide for the visual language.
“I referenced a lot of old scientific diagrams that were made by artists in the ’70s and ’80s, and I used a solar system modeling program to show the exact position of the planets on the day that the ‘Pale Blue Dot’ was taken,” she said, referring to the plaque honoring the famous 1990 image Voyager 1 took of Earth from beyond Neptune.
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“Everyone seemed to agree that Voyager was Ed Stone. Yes, he did so much more, but this was really his biggest legacy,” Shapiro said.
“So we’re honoring both the mission and the person alongside each other. And they both, in a poetic way, have had very long, incredible lives.”
After retiring as Voyager’s project scientist, Stone returned to teaching and research at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA.
Before attending the unveiling, Caltech President Thomas Rosenbaum said, “Ed was a whirlwind of activity. I have many good memories of running after Ed in the midst of conversation as he charged across campus.
Ed’s ambition, drive, and vision were accompanied by his warmth, humility, and commitment to Caltech and our students. He served as a mentor for generations of scholars who have gone on to be leaders in their fields.
He conveyed a curiosity and a thirst for discovery that inspired.”
Stone had joined the Caltech faculty as an assistant professor in 1967 and, from 1983 to 1988, chaired the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.
He went on to serve as vice president for astronomical facilities from 1988 to 1990 and as vice provost for special projects from 2004 to 2022.
In 2023, Caltech established a new faculty position, the Edward C. Stone Professorship.
But there was another academic honor that Stone also cherished: the 2012 naming of the Edward Stone Middle School in his hometown of Burlington, Iowa.
A short walk from the plaque marking that milestone is the final stop of the Exploration Trail, its simple inscription reading: “Ed Stone’s leadership and pursuit of scientific knowledge expanded humanity’s understanding of the universe.
His legacy lives on through the Voyager mission, and the countless people he has inspired.”
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TO THE STARS Incredible plans for futuristic spaceship dubbed ‘Titan Cosmos’ that can fly astronauts to Mars TWICE as fast as Space X
5:08 ET, Dec 7 2024
A FUTURISTIC spaceship hopes to fly astronauts to Mars in just 39 days - twice as fast as Space X.
Leto Titan Cosmos, designed by Oscar Viñals, will be able to adapt to different space missions - from satellite deployment to deep space exploration and asteroid mining.
Designed to be versatile, durable, and affordable, the spacecraft aims to be completely re-usable to be more sustainable and reduce costs.
Viñals told The Sun: “My objective was to create a 100 per cent reusable spacecraft and booster rocket.
"It was inspired by NASA's Space Shuttle and gets its name from one of the twelve Titans of the Greek mythology, the goddess Leto, who was Apollo and Artemis’ mother.
"The name is also an indirect reference about of Apollo & Artemis’ NASA space programmes."
Viñals claims that the propulsion system of the Leto Titan Cosmos combines advanced technologies that promise to make space travel more efficient.
They could potentially shorten travel times for interplanetary missions and reduce the psychological strain of long-term space journeys.
The spacecraft can carry up to five astronauts and could travel to Mars joined by a mother-ship in just 39 days.
According to NASA, a one-way voyage to Mars would take around nine months.
A round-trip, however, would take about 21 months since you would need to wait about three months for Earth and Mars to be in a good place to make the return trip.
Elon Musk's Space X plans to fly astronauts to Mars in 80 to 100 days.
Viñals spacecraft's design includes wavy shapes and strategically placed diffusers at its bottom to manage the hot space plasma created once the spaceship re-enters the atmosphere.
“This is crucial during reentry, as the plasma created by atmospheric friction is distributed in a way that prevents damage to the structure,” the designer explained.
This ensures the spacecraft can withstand the extreme conditions of atmospheric friction and reenter various atmospheres safely.
Advanced materials like thermal tiles and graphene-based structures are also incorporated into the Leto Titan Cosmos.
They will provide strength and heat resistance, enabling the spacecraft to land on diverse planet and space surfaces.
The Leto Titan Cosmos is designed to be highly versatile, able to serve a range of missions, from space exploration to asteroid mining.
Viñals explained: “It could serve as a vanguard for more ambitious missions or even function independently for private sector ventures like exploration, mining, or colonisation."
It could function independently or as part of larger missions, supporting both governmental and private space projects.
Its ability to shift between roles makes it a valuable tool for various space initiatives, including potential missions to distant planets, asteroids, and beyond.
Life aboard the Leto Titan Cosmos would be designed with well-being and comfort in mind, incorporating research on gravity, communal spaces, and the challenges of long-term space travel.
“Space agencies have already made simulations about gravity, psychological well-being, and communal spaces, as seen on the ISS,” Viñals noted.
The spacecraft’s advanced propulsion system could reduce travel times, minimising the duration of missions in low-gravity environments and improving the comfort of the crew.
The hope is that the combination of faster travel and innovative designs will make long-term space missions more feasible and comfortable.
While the Leto Titan Cosmos is an ambitious concept, it faces significant challenges, including securing financial backing and collaboration with top aerospace minds.
“Investment, surrounding yourself with competent people, and having good feedback with other companies or agencies are essential,” the designer pointed out, adding that there's no estimated price for it yet.
However, the spacecraft’s potential to revolutionise space travel remains strong.
Acknowledging the hurdles ahead, Viñals said: “There are still a few years left before we see a revolution in the space sector.”
Even if the full vision is not realised in the near future, the Leto Titan Cosmos could pave the way for other groundbreaking projects in space exploration.
“If it serves as inspiration, it would already be a ‘reality,’” he added.
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/13045186/futuristic-nasa-inspired-spaceship-travel-moon-mars/
Scientists find secret comet in the asteroid belt — how many others are there?
December 6, 2024
A new "main-belt comet" — a comet-like object masquerading as an asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter — has been identified, bringing the tally of these beguiling objects up to 14.
Along with "dark comets," which scientists think make up 60% of all near-Earth objects, main-belt comets belong to a broader population with the umbrella moniker of "active asteroids."
In general, all of these objects are on orbits typical of asteroids, but they display signs of activity — in particular, they exhibit "outgassing" to form a coma and a tail just like a comet.
They therefore blur the lines between rocky asteroids and icy comets, showing that pigeon-holing such bodies as one or the other can be a futile effort.
The term "main belt comet" was coined by Henry Hsieh of Arizona's Planetary Science Institute and Dave Jewitt of the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006, when just three such objects were known.
The latest to be discovered, catalogued as 456P/PANSTARRS (meaning that it is the 456th periodic comet known, and was discovered by the Pan-STARRS project), is just the 14th main-belt comet to be found.
"There are still very few confirmed main-belt comets known," said Hsieh in a statement.
"We want to build up a population so we can get a clearer idea of what their broader properties are — such as their sizes, activity duration and distribution within the asteroid belt, for example — so that they can be better used to trace ice in the solar system in general."
Pan-STARRS, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, consists of two observatories in Hawaii and is designed to spot asteroids and comets in the night sky, as well as other transient phenomena.
It discovered 456P/PANSTARRS in 2021, when the object appeared to be active with a small dusty tail.
However, sometimes asteroids begin ejecting dust when they collide with other small asteroids or meteoroids — the Hubble Space Telescope, for example, has captured examples of this happening.
While such incidents fall under the umbrella title of active asteroids, they are short-lived and do not outgas in the same manner that comets do. So, a question remained: What type of active asteroid was 456P/PANSTARRS?
Hsieh, along with Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science and Audrey Thirouin of Lowell Observatory, have spent the past few years keeping tabs on 456P/PANSTARRS.
This intriguing object was discovered when it was 3.35 astronomical units (501 million kilometers, or 311 million miles) from the sun. When the eight-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile observed it in June 2023, at a distance of 3.37 AU (504 million kilometers, or 313 million miles) the activity had switched off.
But then, the 6.5-meter Walter Baade Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas in Chile and the 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona, observed 456P/PANSTARRS on Oct. 3 and Oct. 26, respectively.
Both telescopes found that a small tail pointing away from the sun, just like a comet, had returned. At the time, 456P/PANSTARRS was closer to the sun at a distance of about 2.86 AU (428 million kilometers, or 266 million miles).
"This object is not just an asteroid that experienced a one-off event that caused it to show activity one time, but is an inherently active, icy body similar to other comets from the outer solar system," said Hsieh.
The activity on the main belt comet re-ignited because, closer to the sun, heating causes water and carbon-dioxide ices just beneath the surface to sublimate into gas and burst out, carrying dust with them to form a tail that points away from the sun.
That tail then gets blown by the outward-flowing solar wind. This is exactly like the behaviour of a comet, with the activity repeating every time it nears perihelion (the closest point to the sun in its orbit).
The Gemini South observations indicated that 456P/PANSTARRS has a nucleus that is about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across.
Still, the team wondered how this object and the other main-belt comets came to find themselves in such asteroid-like orbits around the sun.
Normally, comets have long, looping orbits, whereas asteroid orbits are more circular (though not perfectly circular, as 456P's varying distance from the sun shows).
The current thinking is that they formed close to where they are found now, and that the "snow line" – the boundary between where ice could and couldn't exist in the protoplanetary disk that formed the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, wasn't as sharp a boundary as we thought.
https://www.space.com/the-universe/asteroids/scientists-find-secret-comet-in-the-asteroid-belt-how-many-others-are-there
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad90a6
Immersive sci-fi spaceport experience Interstellar Arc is coming to Las Vegas in 2025
December 6, 2024
Emmy Award-winning Felix & Paul Studios, the team behind the Space Explorers: Blue Marble trilogy that we covered last year, has announced their latest project, called Interstellar Arc.
Interstellar Arc will be a massive "immersive entertainment" venue situated within AREA15, an immersive arts and entertainment district in Las Vegas.
The district will be themed as a sci-fi spaceport, and at 20,000 square feet (1,860 sq meters), it's going to be an expansive one at that.
The concept images that we have so far are giving us strong The Citadel from "Mass Effect" vibes, but we'll have to wait until next year to see what the finished thing looks like, with the venue being set to open in October 2025.
"After more than two years of development, Interstellar Arc represents our most ambitious project yet," said Stéphane Rituit, CEO of Felix & Paul Studios, in a press release.
"We are proud to open alongside other visionary creators, like Meow Wolf, who have made AREA15 a must-visit destination for those seeking mind-expanding experiences. Interstellar Arc is in perfect company here, and we look forward to contributing to this extraordinary landscape."
OK, sounds cool, but what exactly is Interstellar Arc, and what would visitors be able to experience there? Details are light at the moment, beyond "mind-expanding experiences", but we do know that it will showcase "curated entertainment experiences from world-renowned creators such as Universal Studios."
Given that Felix & Paul Studios' previous projects, including Space Explorers and Artemis Ascending were both VR space experiences, we'd expect some kind of VR integration here too.
“This cutting-edge attraction is a perfect fit for our ever-expanding portfolio of immersive, world-class entertainment,” Winston Fisher, CEO of AREA15 said in the press release.
The attraction is part of AREA15's District 2 expansion. AREA15 is a massive entertainment district located near the Las Vegas strip, filled with rides, arcade machines, VR experiences, bars, restaurants, and shops.
The whole thing has a very neon aesthetic that's kinda charming in an "ow my eyes, it's burning my eyes" sort of way.
Given the more muted tone of the Interstellar Arc concept art, perhaps this second district is shooting for a more modern sci-fi aesthetic. We'll have to wait and see.
For now, you head to the Interstellar Arc website where you can sign up for "pre-flight updates". There isn't any real information available there yet, but we imagine systems will start coming online as we get closer to the October 2025 opening date.
In the meantime, you can also check out their previous projects, Space Explorers and Artemis Ascending, at home, assuming you have a Meta Quest VR headset.
https://www.space.com/entertainment/immersive-sci-fi-spaceport-experience-interstellar-arc-is-coming-to-las-vegas-in-2025
https://interstellararc.com/
See Jupiter at its biggest and brightest this weekend
December 6, 2024
Jupiter will rise opposite the sun this weekend, making the gas giant appear even brighter and larger in our sky.
This astronomical arrangement, known as opposition, occurs when a planet lies directly opposite of the sun when viewed from Earth.
This weekend, Jupiter will reach opposition at 3:50 p.m. EDT (2050 GMT) on Saturday (Dec. 7), offering the best viewing opportunity of the planet in 2024.
Appearing in the constellation Taurus, Jupiter will be visible in the east at sunset, while the sun sets to the west.
The planet will remain in view for much of the night, rising to its highest point in the sky around midnight local time, according to In-the-Sky.org.
At around the same time that Jupiter reaches opposition, the planet also makes its closest approach to Earth, also known as perigee.
This coincides with opposition because Jupiter lies on the same side of the sun as Earth, such that our planet passes between Jupiter and the sun during opposition.
Jupiter will officially be closest to Earth on Friday (Dec. 6) at 6 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT).
At this time, Jupiter will be only 380 million miles (611 million kilometers) away, appearing at its brightest and largest to viewers on Earth.
Despite the planet’s proximity, it will not be distinguishable as more than a star-like point of light in the night sky when viewed with the naked eye.
But a good pair of binoculars will help pinpoint the planet, revealing a bright disk and system of Galilean moons, according to In-the-Sky.org.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/see-jupiter-at-its-biggest-and-brightest-this-weekend
Neuraspace installs second telescope to enhance space traffic monitoring
December 6, 2024
Portuguese space traffic management startup Neuraspace has installed a second optical telescope to help track low Earth orbit (LEO) objects across both hemispheres.
Neuraspace said Dec. 6 it had activated a telescope in Chile to scan the southern hemisphere for objects as small as 10 centimeters, three months after setting up a similar telescope at a Portuguese Air Force base in Beja, Portugal, in the northern hemisphere.
The European Commission funded the telescopes as part of Portugal’s 25 million euro ($26 million) Recovery and Resilience Plan. Deimos, which was recently sold to Spanish defense contractor Indra, supplied the telescopes.
Neuraspace plans to pool data from its own infrastructure with data gathered from public sources and partnerships with other ground telescope providers, to improve space traffic management services for satellite operators.
The four-year-old venture’s software platform uses artificial intelligence to provide real-time satellite position information to improve operations in space, including collision avoidance maneuver guidance.
According to Neuraspace CEO Chiara Manfletti, the newly installed telescopes can capture data roughly every second, helping reduce positional error uncertainty to less than 100 meters during a single orbital revolution.
“Due to their locations, our measurement results would roughly double over the course of one year, addressing seasonal gaps associated with tracking LEO objects with passive optical systems,” Manfletti said via email.
“Thus, we will have more data that can be used to update orbits at least two times more frequently. And by tracking data with two telescopes, we can obtain orbits up to several times more accurately than by using only one sensor.”
She declined to disclose the exact location of the Chile telescope.
Neuraspace’s first telescope has already produced more than 300,000 measurements of objects from LEO to geostationary orbit, and the company expects its second will be 25% more productive because of a higher number of clearer nights in the area.
“Because of better viewing conditions, Neuraspace will also be able to achieve slightly better accuracy, more detection and fainter objects,” Manfletti added.
More than 400 satellites currently use Neuraspace’s platform for conjunction monitoring and collision avoidance services, according to the company, which started offering a free version in March to foster more collaboration among satellite operators.
https://spacenews.com/neuraspace-installs-second-telescope-to-enhance-space-traffic-monitoring/