Questions tagged [retroreflector]

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4 answers
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Does the International Space Station get TV?

For obvious reasons the ISS cannot get cable TV. Can the ISS get the new digital air TV or satellite TV using an issued dish and receiver like a house? How would that be done compared to how it is ...
Muze's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
271 views

Planetary Society's LightSail Spacecraft's corner cube reflectors; how large, and corrected for aberration?

The Planetary Society's new 3U cubesat LightSail spacecraft (mentioned in this answer) has corner-cube retroreflectors on on the 10x10 cm +z end, facing directly away from the sail, which will be ...
uhoh's user avatar
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7 votes
0 answers
328 views

Have LAGEOS' germanium corner cube reflectors ever been used?

When I was writing this answer about the LAGEOS satellites, I notices that four of the over four hundred corner reflectors are made of optical germanium rather than fused silica. Fused silica (FS) ...
uhoh's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
536 views

How soon after "The Eagle" landed did they first attempt to bounce a laser off the Moon? When did it first succeed?

The question When did Houston figure out where the Eagle had landed? says (in part): During Apollo 11's stay on the surface, Michael Collins was given seven different locations to look for the ...
uhoh's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
260 views

Why do the LAGEOS' satellites have four germanium corner cube reflectors out of over 400?

When I was writing this answer about the LAGEOS satellites, I noticed that only four of the over four hundred corner reflectors are made of optical germanium rather than fused silica. Fused silica (...
uhoh's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
145 views

How will The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 Spacecraft's retroreflectors be used?

For more information and links on The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 and its corner cube retroreflectors, see the question Planetary Society's LightSail Spacecraft's corner cube reflectors; how large,...
uhoh's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
105 views

Are there any possible proxies for dust accumulation on the retroreflectors on the moon?

New York Times' How Do You Solve a Moon Mystery? Fire a Laser at It links to the new open access paper First two-way laser ranging to a lunar orbiter: infrared observations from the Grasse station to ...
uhoh's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
227 views

How will the corner cube retroreflector array be used on Sentinel 3B?

The Spaceflight Now article Photos: Sentinel 3B satellite prepared for launch from Plesetsk Cosmodrome has of course lots of photos. One of them shows a dish antenna covered with shiny, metallized ...
uhoh's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
133 views

Could Beresheet's retroreflector array (still) be used?

Almost the same question as Could Schiaparelli's retroreflector array (still) be used? except for Beresheet. Some important differences in this case: Beresheet was far less "crashed" than ...
uhoh's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
238 views

What exactly is a "Next Generation Lunar Reflector"? Difference in design and performance?

Space.com's 50 Years After Apollo, India Is Carrying a NASA Laser Reflector to the Moon (And It's Only the Start) is a little confusing because it talks about three retroreflectors: - Apollo era ...
uhoh's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
610 views

Could Schiaparelli's retroreflector array (still) be used?

update 2: It appears Schiaparelli has already been located by satellite. This still represents the first laser ranging retroreflector array deployed beyond the Earth-Moon system! So assuming it is now ...
uhoh's user avatar
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-4 votes
1 answer
274 views

What was the point of the laser reflectors which were placed on the Moon with the Apollo landings? [closed]

Until today, I had never once heard anyone ever mention these "reflectors" which apparently were placed on the Moon at the landing site in order to verify from Earth that humans were there. On https:/...
Kenichiro's user avatar