Micromachined Propulsion systems for very small satellites
EPFL, 30 March 2012
http://lmts.epfl.ch/MEMS-ion-source
VIDEO
Our focus is on miniaturized electric propulsion to enable small spacecraft (1–100 kg) to be able to perform missions currently only possible for much larger and hence much more expensive spacecraft. Our goal is to provide efficient propulsion systems for nanosatellites, which are currently stuck in whatever orbit they were initially placed: we plan to free them to allow nanosatellites to perform orbital maneuvering, and missions to the Moon, to Near Earth Objects, or even to Mars.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Online: The Tricorder Project
The Tricorder Project
The Tricorder Project, 28 March 2012
http://www.tricorderproject.org/tricorder-mark2.html
To introduce you to the Tricorder project, I'd like to begin with a story from the development of the very first Tricorder that I built. The first educational discoveries with the Tricorder came only moments after completing it, and walking about the workshop to "see what can't be seen". Upon holding the Tricorder near a power adapter plugged into the wall, you could see the oscillating magnetic fields on the magnetometer visualization. There they were, slowly bouncing back and forth, right in front of you. My father had taught me how transformers work from a young age — two coils are wound together, each having a different number of windings, where an oscillating magnetic field from one coil would induce a voltage in the other coil proportional to the ratio of their number of windings. I know how transformers work — I have known since he explained it to me, I know the equation that determines the output given the input and a certain number of windings — but I had never seen it work until then, until I had this Tricorder in my hands. It grounded my knowledge of the electromagnetic phenomena at work in transformers with something that I could easily watch and see, and use to see inside /any/ transformer, right in front of me. And from that moment on, it seemed like much of the mystery of how they worked I now understood — I could think about what was going on inside them easier and more naturally, now that I had visually grounded the science going on inside. This is why I built the Tricorder.
The Tricorder Project, 28 March 2012
http://www.tricorderproject.org/tricorder-mark2.html
To introduce you to the Tricorder project, I'd like to begin with a story from the development of the very first Tricorder that I built. The first educational discoveries with the Tricorder came only moments after completing it, and walking about the workshop to "see what can't be seen". Upon holding the Tricorder near a power adapter plugged into the wall, you could see the oscillating magnetic fields on the magnetometer visualization. There they were, slowly bouncing back and forth, right in front of you. My father had taught me how transformers work from a young age — two coils are wound together, each having a different number of windings, where an oscillating magnetic field from one coil would induce a voltage in the other coil proportional to the ratio of their number of windings. I know how transformers work — I have known since he explained it to me, I know the equation that determines the output given the input and a certain number of windings — but I had never seen it work until then, until I had this Tricorder in my hands. It grounded my knowledge of the electromagnetic phenomena at work in transformers with something that I could easily watch and see, and use to see inside /any/ transformer, right in front of me. And from that moment on, it seemed like much of the mystery of how they worked I now understood — I could think about what was going on inside them easier and more naturally, now that I had visually grounded the science going on inside. This is why I built the Tricorder.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Online: San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives' photostream
San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives' photostream
Flickr, 12 March 2012
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/sets/72157627981313215/
These set contains all things Space related! NASA missions, planets, space suits, you name it!
Flickr, 12 March 2012
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/sets/72157627981313215/
These set contains all things Space related! NASA missions, planets, space suits, you name it!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Online: Evadot and Kentucky Space think YOU can hack space
Evadot and Kentucky Space think YOU can hack space
EVADOT, 7 March 2012
http://evadot.com/2012/03/07/evadot-and-kentucky-space-think-you-can-hack-space/
In just a little while, when the Umpa Lumpas finish manufacturing the first batch, we’re going to start offering CubeSat prototype kits for a fraction of what it costs today.
EVADOT, 7 March 2012
http://evadot.com/2012/03/07/evadot-and-kentucky-space-think-you-can-hack-space/
In just a little while, when the Umpa Lumpas finish manufacturing the first batch, we’re going to start offering CubeSat prototype kits for a fraction of what it costs today.
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