hey

remember im writing up a paper for school about satellites

and i was wondering if any of you know of any VERY new technologies used in satellites... somthing that isnt very widely known (yet)

cheers

I can't think of anything that isn't reasonably commonly known.  However, one area that I find interesting is the future application of LEO (low earth orbit) satellites for Internet connectivity.  As far as I know, current satellite Internet providers end up using standard higher-orbit satellites, which result in high ping rates.  LEO satellites could significantly reduce those pings rates, which means Internet connectivity via satellite could be used for things like networked gaming.  Also could be useful in 3rd world countries without decent telecom infrastructures.

One link I found was here.

Quote (mabman @ April 20 2004, 2:28 pm)

As far as I know, current satellite Internet providers end up using standard higher-orbit satellites, which result in high ping rates.

Thats why Satellite internet is no good for gameing, not that I didn't know that already

this may help or it may not but it cant hurt
got it from the bbc site

Tiny satellite turns junkbuster
Snap is just 33cm tall

A miniature satellite, developed in the UNITED KINGDOMWILL clean up the vast accumulated junk of old space missions currently orbiting the Earth.
The new "nanosatellite" weighs just six kilograms and is called Snap. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology (SST) in England.

Snap-1 is due to lift off on its first test mission on 28 June from a site in Russia.

The head of SST, Craig Underwood, told BBC News: "The main feature of Snap is that it is incredibly cheap. Snap-1 was designed and built in nine months with just a small team, so we can put together space missions for less than $1m.

"That opens up the way for missions which need many satellites but also for operations where the satellite needs to be expendable."

Dr Underwood added: "I think its true to say that Snap is the most sophisticated nanosatellite ever built. The Americans launched a few a month ago but Snap is more advanced than them."

Space junk

After 40 years of space exploration, huge amounts of space junk are now orbiting the Earth. The junk ranges in size from empty booster rockets to flecks of paint.

They are all travelling at nearly 30,000 kilometres an hour, so even a small chunk of metal can smash into satellites and space stations with the same energy as a truck travelling at a 100 kilometres an hour.

The Snap satellites have four cameras on board to target pieces of debris. They could then latch onto the debris and slow it down, so that it gradually falls into the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.

Dr Underwood said the Snap satellite would burn up along with its target debris, but, at £100,000 each, they are a fraction of the price of ordinary satellites.

He said Snap has yet to find a buyer, but he expects strong interest from insurance companies, especially those responsible for high-budget projects like the International Space Station.

Space rendezvous

The Snap satellite is due to launch from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, Russia, into a 650 km-high sun synchronous orbit. It will be on board a Cosmos launch vehicle, shared with a Chinese microsatellite, Tsinghua-1, and a Russian military satellite.

Snap will carry miniature GPS navigation, computing, propulsion and attitude control technologies. But its primary payload is the camera system capable of inspecting other spacecraft in orbit.

It will test this by making a rendezvous with Tsinghua-1. If successful, it would use the same technique to close in on space junk.

i don't know what they use now but i remember something about a better signal type that would lower the ping time.(i may be wrong)

I've hurd that a Russian scientist has discovered a way to put ads in orbit that can be clearly seen from the earths surface.

Interesting but SCARY.  We must hunt down that scientist and dispose of him

Oh....great. Orbiting billboards  

I can probably get you an Iridium satellite from work.  I'll let you know when to be standing outside your house.  

I just need your GPS coordinates.  You'll have to sign a waiver as well.  

Quote (George W Carver @ April 20 2004, 11:21 pm)

Oh....great. Orbiting billboards

kinda reminds me of the coke add from red dwarf  

There is also that new satellite... Probe-B something. Suppose to checkout the gravity pull/rotation of the earth to verify if Einstein theory about that.