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S-Net
S-Net is a worldwide inter-satellite communications network consisting of four satellites and being operated by the Technical University of Berlin. Description The project has the goal to investigate and demonstrate inter-satellite communication technology within a distributed and autonomously operating nanosatellite network. All satellites are equipped with a S-Band radio emitter and receiver, which not only enables communication with the ground-based control center but also allows for communication between the individual satellites. The number of satellites in the network was set to four as this number represents the best cost-benefit-ratio. With four satellites, a total of six independent communication links are possible, while only three are possible with three satellites. Moreover, four is the lowest number that enables multi-hop communication. The satellites are powered by solar cells and batteries and have a planned lifetime of one year. Future applications of the technology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 In Spaceflight
This article documents notable spaceflight events during the year 2018. For the first time since 1990, more than 100 orbital launches were performed globally. Overview Planetary exploration The NASA InSight seismology probe was launched in May 2018 and landed on Mars in November. The Parker Solar Probe was launched to explore the Sun in August 2018, and reached its first perihelion in November, traveling faster than any prior spacecraft. On 20 October the ESA and JAXA launched BepiColombo to Mercury, on a 10-year mission featuring several flybys and eventually deploying two orbiters in 2025 for local study. The asteroid sampling mission Hayabusa2 reached its target Ryugu in June, and the similar OSIRIS-REx probe reached Bennu in December. China launched its Chang'e 4 lander/rover in December which performed the first ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon in January 2019; a communications relay was sent to the second Earth-Moon Lagrange point in May. The Google Lu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |