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".

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How close will the cubesats be when numerous of them are launched simultaneously?

Checking the onboard video of PSLV C43 gives a feel like the CubeSats are released in very proximity. Does this mean that these CubeSats will be orbiting in such very close proximity through out ...
karthikeyan's user avatar
  • 4,469
13 votes
1 answer
263 views

Does Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter require "reprogramming" when handling communications for newer spacecraft or landers?

While I was going through the question What happens to Insight's parachute? I learned of the role of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to provide reliable communication between other Mars spacecraft and/...
Talk is Cheap Show me Code's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why was MarCO-B CubeSats flying away after InSight landed?

Farewell to Mars November 26, 2018 MarCO-B, one of the experimental Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, took this image of Mars from about 4,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) away during its flyby of the Red ...
not_Prince's user avatar
  • 1,507
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

What will become of the two cubesats deployed as part of the Insight mission?

So as part of the Insight mission, two Cubesats were also launched to relay data during landing (so data can be obtained if something goes wrong) What becomes of these satellites once their primary ...
Machavity's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
352 views

LAGEOS 1's time capsule's positioning in the sattelite

LAGEOS 1 is one of the two LAGEOS (LAzer GEOdynamics Sattelite) sattelites designed to study the movement of continents with minute precision using reflected light from hundreds of reflectors on its ...
Victorbrine Cassini's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
70 views

Distributed computational power-sharing and orbital supercomputer

I had an interesting conversation last night with a nanosatellite engineer about how much computational power is required in a nanosatellite constellation and if it's necessary. I had an idea or a ...
Ondrej Sarnecký's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
828 views

How much fuel to maintain VLEO for communication satelites?

A recent answer about communication satellites in VLEO (≤350 km) estimates a useful orbital life of about month without fuel. I.e. Once the vehicle is out of fuel to maintain orbit, THEN it has the ...
James Jenkins's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
308 views

Why the PRN obtained from Android is different from calculated by TLE

I want to use TLE data to calculate the azimuth and elevation of every GPS satellites at user's location. In order to verify the correctness of TLE calculation, I wrote an Android app that can be ...
AndyShan's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
426 views

Is there an end-of-life policy for Martian satellites?

When a terrestrial satellite nears the end of its useful life, it is often de-orbited to burn up in the atmosphere or sent up into a graveyard orbit. This is done to prevent the satellite from being ...
DrSheldon's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
132 views

Geometry of full global coverage with 4 supersynchronous satellites, 3 or 16 control stations

in order to provide a truly global coverage of the Earth from space, including the polar regions, a minimum of just 4 satellites is required. Placed in precise 63.4 degree supersynchronous orbits, one ...
Brad Carson's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Could a satellite in LEO "pump" or change mass distribution to gain forward momentum?

Similar to pumping your feet on a child's swing can a satellite run up and down a pole to produce a forward momentum? Red dots is the satellite's position running up and down the pole on an ...
Muze's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
855 views

How accurate can a satellite's orbit be?

How precise can an artificial satellite be when it comes to following the exact orbit in relation to Earth or hitting the same point above Earth in orbit? Which orbit would be the most stable for this?...
Muze's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
702 views

Given a working satellite, would it be possible to build a homemade transmitter/receiver?

Given existing low-orbit and geo-synchronous satellites, would it be possible to build a device that could send a signal to a satellite and then have that signal received on another device? ...
Becca's user avatar
  • 31
4 votes
1 answer
224 views

Satellite retrieval, fix and deploy possible remotely?

Is there any satellites that are designed to come back to Earth for repairs or upgrades and then be deployed again? Would there be any benefits to creating a capsule or inflatable heat shield to go on ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
223 views

How to match orbital speeds of 2 or more satellites in different orbits?

Satellite ME is orbit around the Moon and Earth. Satellites E is around Earth. I understand the low orbit satellites orbit at higher speeds. Can Sat ME match the speed of any of Satellites E at any ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
2 answers
690 views

Can objects be deorbited by a satellite using a magnetic field?

Can a magnetic field be made around a satellite for a split second to gain or loose momentum from another satellite or debris with a few passes with a near-miss trajectories on larger debris? Could a ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
2 answers
285 views

Which Live satellites can the public view of earth? [closed]

Does anybody know if there is a LIVE satellite? Like a cross between Google Earth (zoom) and GOES 16 (LIVE)? So WE can see what's really going on around here? I want to see inside of the crater in ...
Elizabeth Drake's user avatar
19 votes
8 answers
5k views

How would a long pole be transported to space?

Can a long pole or a set of poles be strapped to the out side of a rocket (like a bottle rocket)or on the nose as an external payload without interfering with the aerodynamics of the rocket? How would ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
11 votes
2 answers
311 views

Why meteorological images have missing lines in the center?

I noticed strange blank line in the middle of completely valid images from VIIRS. . This looks like an error in the reception. Would have go unnoticed, unless the same blank line in the middle of ...
dernasherbrezon's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

What do you need to do legally to have an object in orbit?

Hello fellow explorers, I've been looking into amateur satellite and rocket launches. Now, I'm by no means saying I'm an expert and have all my plans ready for launch. However, hypothetically if I ...
NateAGeek's user avatar
  • 173
1 vote
2 answers
457 views

Can the deactivated satellites also be tracked through TLE?

TLE is used to track whether the satellites are in orbit or not. However, is it possible that a particular satellite is deactivated, decommissioned or deorbited yet its TLE is being updated regularly?
San Shaw's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why would Kepler rotate towards Earth to transfer data?

A question from here: "Why would Kepler rotate towards Earth instead of having an antenna always directed to Earth"?
J. Doe's user avatar
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14 votes
2 answers
2k views

Could a satellite survive for thousands of years in a high enough orbit? [duplicate]

Let's suppose that an advanced alien civilization explored the Earth hundreds of thousands of years ago and then left a satellite in a high orbit, say of a radius of 100.000 km. Could such a ...
xxavier's user avatar
  • 729
1 vote
1 answer
266 views

Diamagnetic Polar Orbit

This has nothing to do with electricity, Electrodynamic propulsion, or light sails. I am asking can a flat surface made of diamagnetic material like light sail displace Earth or the Sun's magnetic ...
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Satellite launched, but in storage?

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TDRS_satellites TDRS-C and TDRS-E were launched, but are "in storage". The citation (https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/...
RonJohn's user avatar
  • 1,102
6 votes
2 answers
7k views

What is a typical satellite solar panel mass?

Does anyone know a reliable source to find the mass of solar panels on satellites (in particular GEO satellites)? I know they will vary but I am struggling to even find one data point let alone a ...
Jez Turner's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
753 views

How to determine an orbit of a satellite for a collision detection?

I'm trying to validate an collision detector, and for that I'm starting from a pair of initial conditions for a satellite. After that I will use an RK method to integrate. How can I determine a pair ...
Alexandru Lapusneanu's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
808 views

How is a Russian satellite's behavior "very abnormal"?

The BBC has a news article saying: "Mystery Russian satellite's behaviour raises alarm in US". But the article doesn't say how or why the behavior is "abnormal". And the linked transcript of Remarks ...
Brock Adams's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
238 views

Relativistic effect on satellite motion

I am using GMAT to propagate satellite motion. At first, I excluded all the propagators besides harmonics(of second degree and 0th order, as shown in the picture): Here are the results(...
Alex Johnson's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
126 views

Can the Sun's magnetic field be used to propel a solar satellite?

Can diamagnetic materials or a diamagnetic devise be used to propel using the magnetic field of the Sun in a solar polar magnetic assisted slingshot?
Muze's user avatar
  • 1
2 votes
1 answer
97 views

Looking for info about commercial usage of satellites with examples [closed]

I'm doing research for an article and I'm looking for info about usage of satellites by commercial companies. For instance, usage of small satellites by insurance companies (imaging and etc.) or ...
Ondrej Sarnecký's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
466 views

Design Software Recommendations

I'm currently working on "base stones" of future cubesat mission and I'm doing some research for designing or simulation of cubesats. Software that I found on google costs enormous price and I'm ...
Ondrej Sarnecký's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
479 views

Launch cost of a small satellite

The satellite mass is 100 kg. The volume is 150 $dm^3$. The orbit is sun-synchronous (700km altitude) I'm doing a research to find the actual launch price of this satellite by ISRO, Arianespace, ...
Leeloo's user avatar
  • 833
6 votes
1 answer
706 views

GMAT atmosphere

I am using GMAT to propagate satellite motion with Jacchia-Roberts atmosphere model. Here is a formula used from this model which is then used to estimate the variation in drag on a spacecraft due to ...
Alex Johnson's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
328 views

Can I obtain the audio of president Eisenhowers message coming to me from a satellite circling in outer space?

I remember hearing a recording of this speech some time ago. However searching for it again has been difficult, which led me to believe that I probably heard a recreation from someone else. In this qz....
Michael Kunst's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
339 views

Atmospheric drag effect

While propagating the satellite motion faced the strange effect. Without the atmosphere results (x,y,z coordinates in meters and ...
Alex Johnson's user avatar
24 votes
3 answers
5k views

What would happen if a satellite took a direct hit from a coronal mass ejection (CME)?

I was wondering what would happen if the average satellite were hit by an average CME. According to wikipedia the average velocity of a CME is 20 to 3,200 km/s. In addition to this it's super-heated, ...
Magic Octopus Urn's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
87 views

Why does MODIS have two channels covering a band of 3929nm to 3989nm?

While working my way through the technical specification of the MODIS sensor (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) in the Terra and Aqua missions, I noticed that band 21 and 22 seem to cover ...
Sirko's user avatar
  • 143
2 votes
0 answers
560 views

How to find Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits (NHROs)?

Looking all the good questions and answers in this site referent to CR3BP dynamics, periodic orbits, state transition matrices, etc. I wonder: what algorithm or steps do I have to follow to find the ...
Julio's user avatar
  • 1,772
5 votes
2 answers
202 views

Is there a list of insured satellites?

SwissRe and other reinsurers state that 21 LEO satellites and 167 GEO satellites are insured, but I was wondering if more information was available on that. Also, are satellites fully insured? Or ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
292 views

Number of spectral bands on radar satellites

I have learned that optical earth observing satellites have spectral bands often in groups (e.g. panchromatic, multi-spectral, SWIR, etc.). What about radar satellites such as RADARSAT-1? It seems it ...
mortensen's user avatar
  • 193
3 votes
2 answers
357 views

How does a spacecraft like Worldview-3 manage 29 different spectral bands? One giant filter wheel, or...?

@Jack's answer mentions 29 separate spectral bands for the Worldview-3 satellite, and that these are implemented using filters. Is there one giant 29+ position filter wheel incorporated into a single ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
6 votes
1 answer
815 views

Spectral bands on an Earth-observing satellite

What does it mean when a satellite has these bands[1]: Panchromatic: 450-800 nm 8 Multispectral (red, red edge, coastal, blue, green, yellow, near-IR1 and near-IR2): 400 nm-1,040 nm 8 SWIR: 1,195 nm-...
mortensen's user avatar
  • 193
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

Did Echo 2 remain spherical without requiring gas pressure? If so, how is this known to be true?

Echo 1 and Echo 2 (Project Echo) were giant balloons inflated in space after being launched into Earth orbit, and used to study both the bouncing of radar, TV, and radio signals from one Earth station ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
4 votes
2 answers
692 views

Can the TLE epoch be listed as in the future? How?

Can the epoch time of a TLE be in the future? Context: ISS TLE from Heavens Above 1 25544U 98067A 18193.60071450 .00016717 00000-0 10270-3 0 9013 2 25544 51.6401 252.0472 0003848 304.4303 ...
pen's user avatar
  • 163
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is a sun-blocking orbit possible?

Is it possible for an orbital "sun shade satellite" to have a geosynchronous equatorial orbit such that it is in an approximately straight line between the Sun and a fixed point on the Earth's ...
Adám's user avatar
  • 1,587
4 votes
1 answer
205 views

Why are the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite's solar panels angled so strangely?

The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (or GPM) spacecraft (1, 2) has two solar array panels. They extend from opposite sides and one is tilted with respect to the other. This is a slightly ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
-2 votes
1 answer
131 views

Space stations is there 3 [closed]

Are there 3 space stations, one in the west low one in the south about 30 ' at about 10pmUK skies , and the Chinese coming over from SE th SW in day brake at 4am
Jim Hood's user avatar
15 votes
1 answer
1k views

What satellites can I receive Images from with a radio?

Are there any satellites that I can receive image data streams with an SDR and antenna? I already know about NOAA 15, 18, 19 and METEOR - M 2. Are there any other radio satellites that I can access ...
Prophet's user avatar
  • 151
0 votes
1 answer
197 views

How do I prepare a preflight excel sheet template for satellite launch?

I would like to know if anybody has any advice regarding a preflight check that I am doing for a satellite. I would like to know if anybody has any experience regarding a standard excel sheet for all ...
Alakelele's user avatar

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