Lego-style Vs Custom Shop CubeSat Construction

Lego-style Vs Custom Shop CubeSat Construction

There are several schools of thought on building a CubeSat or other picosatellite.  We will contrast what we call Lego-style with what we'll dub the Custom Shop approach. Lego Style suggests…
IRVE-3: Hypersonic Inflatable Heat Shield Is A Go

IRVE-3: Hypersonic Inflatable Heat Shield Is A Go

NASA's Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3), a large inflatable heat shield developed, was launched by sounding rocket at 7:01 a.m. Monday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops…
Jansky Very Large Array Gets First Light

Jansky Very Large Array Gets First Light

The Very Large Array (VLA) radio astronomy observatory, named for American physicist Karl Guthe Jansky, who discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way in 1931, is the largest and most…
Derating Off-the-shelf Parts So They Work

Derating Off-the-shelf Parts So They Work

If you use off-the-shelf electronics parts instead of expensive, hard-to-find space-rated gear, will your satellite work?  The process of 'derating' will let you do this.  Engineer Amanda…
Voyager Chases The Final Frontier A Little Farther

Voyager Chases The Final Frontier A Little Farther

NASA's Voyager 1, launched in 1977, was propelled into deep space with the help of Jupiter's and Saturn's gravity. Now it is about to leave the solar system. But exactly when is unclear. Voyager 1 is…