Plasma thruster could propel small satellites into deep space for cheap

Plasma thruster could propel small satellites into deep space for cheap data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 400};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20648941' !== '') ? 'bsd:20648941' : ''; var postID = '20648941'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"science",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"mariella-moon", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store Hands On More Betterer HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Plasma thruster could propel small satellites into deep space for cheapByMariella MoonpostedJul 4th, 2013 at 4:00 AM 0

A few years from now, we might be able to send small satellites into deep space for cheap using a new propulsion system being developed by University of Michigan engineers -- assuming they raise enough money via Kickstarter. Called CAT (CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster), it's designed to propel 10 x 10 x 10 centimeter CubeSat blocks far beyond the planet's orbit using only solar energy for fuel. Thus far, similar satellites can only orbit the Earth after going along for a ride on current rockets that are larger and more expensive. In the future, CATs could head to the asteroid belt, or even as far as Saturn and Jupiter to investigate water on their moons. The $200,000 its engineers aim to raise (in exchange for your name etched on the golden layer of a spacecraft panel) will go towards the CAT engine's development and testing. The team could send an experimental thruster to space as soon as 2014 with help from NASA-Ames and Google, with a spacecraft launch targeted for 2015.

when.eng("eng.perm.init")

Source: CAT (KickStarter)

Tags: cat, cubesat, cubesatambipolarthruster, satellite, space, video

when.eng("eng.share.init")

Previous

White Nexus 4 sells out, no longer available on Google Play

Next

Scientists grow human liver from stem cells, hope to relieve transplant woes (video) when.eng("eng.livefyre.init", {articleId: 20648941,checksum: "1c76acaea23a6d855c49f21a8e5f09c9",collectionMeta: "eyJ0eXAiOiJqd3QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJ0aXRsZSI6IlBsYXNtYSB0aHJ1c3RlciBjb3VsZCBwcm9wZWwgc21hbGwgc2F0ZWxsaXRlcyBpbnRvIGRlZXAgc3BhY2UgZm9yIGNoZWFwIiwidXJsIjoiaHR0cDpcL1wvd3d3LmVuZ2FkZ2V0LmNvbVwvMjAxM1wvMDdcLzA0XC9jdWJlc2F0LWNhdC10aHJ1c3Rlci1wcm9wZWxsZXIta2lja3N0YXJ0ZXJcLyIsInRhZ3MiOiIiLCJjaGVja3N1bSI6IjFjNzZhY2FlYTIzYTZkODU1YzQ5ZjIxYThlNWYwOWM5IiwiYXJ0aWNsZUlkIjoiMjA2NDg5NDEifQ.CVMe4b83PrQx3W6qrmdjFcEXBIh5R3g6hENBZGcSadg",domain: "engadget.fyre.co",siteId: "296092"}) onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93310581", "RR", "RR"); adSetType("");}}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93218256", "160", "600"); adSetType("");}}); when.eng("eng.rail.init") Sites We LikeTech Apple News gdgt Boing BoingSlashdotMAKEArs TechnicaTechMemePhone ScoopDesignFFFFOUND!Core77Popcorn ShowerMoCo LocoDesign*SpongeThe SartorialistNewsHuffPost PoliticsThe Daily BeastHuffington PostTech NewsBusiness NewsInvesting NewsLifestyleLifehackerHuffPost WomenStylelistAutomotive TranslogicGadlingEnvironmentalInhabitatGoodAutoblog GreenHuffpost GreenEntertainment Joystiq MassivelyThe Onioni09HuffPost CelebritySpinnerMoviefone About UsSubscribe via RSSLike Engadget on Facebook@engadget on TwitterEspañol???????????DeutschlandJoystiqRoyal Ontario Museum opens doors in Aug. for ROM game jamDragon's Crown characters get color, voice, name customizationLeft 4 Dead 2 Linux leaves the beta safe houseTuawDouglas Engelbart, thank you for your great mindDaily Update for July 3, 2013Getting ready for fireworks photography with your iPhoneTechCrunchApple Exploring Earbud Tech That Can Compensate For Specific Fit In Each User's EarSnapKeys Adds A Second Software Keyboard To Its Qwerty-Attacking ArsenalApple Seeks Patent For Waze-Style Crowdsourced Navigation That Could Boost iOS MapsHuffPost TechGET READY FORBoston University Trying To Halt Sales Of iPhonesThis Could Be The World's Fastest BikeAOL Tech.

© 2013 AOL Inc.
All rights reserved. Reprints and Permissions Privacy PolicyTerms of UseTrademarksAOL A-Z HelpAdvertise with Us

lab.script("http://zor.fyre.co/wjs/v1.0/javascripts/CommentCount.js");// iOS scaling fix(function(e){var c="addEventListener",b="gesturestart",g="querySelectorAll",f=[1,1],d=g in e?e[g]("meta[name=viewport]"):[];function a(){d.content="width=device-width,minimum-scale="+f[0]+",maximum-scale="+f[1];e.removeEventListener(b,a,true)}if((d=d[d.length-1])&&c in e){a();f=[0.25,1.6];e[c](b,a,true)}}(document));// hide chrome on mobile/mobile/i.test(navigator.userAgent) && !location.hash && setTimeout(function () { if (!pageYOffset) window.scrollTo(0, 1);}, 1000);

View the original article here

Planet Labs' fleet of 28 tiny satellites will send back aerial shots for cheap

Planet Labs Reveals First Images from Space; Announces Plans to Launch Fleet of Satellites to Understand the Changing Planet

San Francisco,
CA, 26th June 2013
–

Planet Labs, a space and analytics company, announced plans to launch the world's largest fleet of Earth imaging satellites to image the changing planet and provide open access to that information. Today, they revealed the first images from their first two satellites.

Planet Labs' goal is to provide universal access to information about the changing planet. The company plans to achieve this by launching a fleet of Earth imaging satellites, called 'Doves', that when acting together can provide a new image of the planet at an unprecedented combination of resolution and frequency. To best enable this mission, the company has selected a low orbit for its constellation and an optical resolution of three to five meters – a scale that allows measurement of a tree canopy, but does not compromise individual privacy. This will enable monitoring of deforestation, help improve agricultural yields, track natural disasters and many other applications.

"Planet Labs will create an entirely new data set, with both humanitarian and commercial value," said Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures. "We've become used to having imagery of the entire Earth. What we haven't yet understood is how transformative it will be when that imagery is regularly and frequently updated." Everyone from ecologists to citizen journalists will be able to track frequent changes to any place on the planet -- a frequency and coverage greater than ever seen before.

"We're seeing unprecedented innovation in the space industry, starting with SpaceX lowering the cost of access, and now with Planet Labs revolutionizing the satellite segment," said Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and member of the company's Board of Directors. "As Planet Labs' first outside investor, we are delighted to help the company execute on their unique vision to make the big data landscape of the planet more accessible."

A selection of images from the company's first two demonstration satellites, "Dove 1" and "Dove 2," launched in April 2013, are available on www.planet-labs.com. These demonstration missions extended the company's lab into space, and successfully validated key technologies and operations to enable future systems. Data from the upcoming fleet of satellites are scheduled to be available early next year. The company is engaging with select partners and customers to ensure the data service can easily be utilized for both humanitarian and commercial purposes.

View the original article here