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Ahead-looking: Visitors in low Earth orbit has surged in recent times. The rising variety of satellites is now pushing scientists to develop new administration and monitoring options, as GPS and ground-based stations can typically be unreliable or unavailable.
The Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory has launched the “Spacecraft Speedometer,” a novel know-how for monitoring satellites in low Earth orbit. This compact, resource-efficient machine can exactly measure a satellite tv for pc’s pace because it orbits the planet. Researchers consider it might additionally function a monitoring resolution for deep-space missions.
Designed to offer onboard, real-time velocity measurements, the Spacecraft Speedometer allows area companies and business operators to foretell satellite tv for pc positions and execute orbital maneuvers to keep away from collisions with different satellites or area particles.
Los Alamos developed the system in response to rising congestion in LEO, the place the variety of energetic satellites surged from 2,287 in 2019 to over 10,000 in 2024. With the rise of mega-constellations, site visitors administration challenges are anticipated to develop much more extreme.
Present strategies for monitoring satellite tv for pc pace and place depend on GPS or ground-based radars. Whereas GPS works when a satellite tv for pc has a functioning receiver, it may change into unreliable throughout photo voltaic storms. Floor stations, in the meantime, can solely observe orbiting objects intermittently – typically simply as soon as each few hours or days.
The newly launched Spacecraft Speedometer gives a extra dependable different to each methods, offering steady velocity knowledge even throughout excessive area climate. Researchers additionally recommend it might observe orbital insertions in different planetary atmospheres, monitor native area environments, and measure harmful particle charging ranges.
The machine achieves these capabilities via its twin laminated plasma spectrometers, which measure charged particles (ions and electrons) placing the entrance and rear of a spacecraft. Los Alamos researchers evaluate this course of to a automobile driving via heavy rain: extra raindrops hit the entrance windshield than the rear. By analyzing this distinction, the Spacecraft Speedometer can decide a satellite tv for pc’s pace and place in actual time.
