CAPSLOCKSTUCK
Spaced Out Lunar Tick
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2013
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| System Name | Party On |
|---|---|
| Processor | Xeon w 3520 |
| Motherboard | DFI Lanparty |
| Cooling | Big tower thing |
| Memory | 6 gb Ballistix Tracer |
| Video Card(s) | HD 7970 |
| Case | a plank of wood |
| Audio Device(s) | seperate amp and 6 big speakers |
| Power Supply | Corsair |
| Mouse | cheap |
| Keyboard | under going restoration |
TheJapanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has launched a satellite designed to reach ‘super low orbit’, using a radical ion engine said to be 10 times more efficient than gas jets.
The satellite, dubbed Tsubame, will drop down below an altitude of 300 kilometers (186 miles) in the next two years, after starting out at around 480km (298 miles).
This will make it the first Earth observation satellite to orbit so low.
According to JAXA, it successfully blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on December 23, and has since sent back the first data to confirm it is stable.
The 400kg Tsubame satellite – the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) – will be used to capture high-resolution images of Earth, and measure oxygen levels, according to New Scientist.
The SLATS ion engine uses xenon gas as propellant, requiring thrust that’s just about the equivalent of the weight of a dime.
The satellite is equipped with an atomic oxygen monitoring system, to measure the concentration of the molecule and its interaction with other materials.
Atomic oxygen increases at super low altitudes as the atmosphere becomes denser, according to JAXA.
And, it’s known to damage satellites’ insulation.
‘Normally, oxygen gas consists of two atoms which enter a covalent bond and form a molecule,’ JAXA explains.
‘Atomic oxygen refers to a state in which oxygen gas separates due to space radiation and ultraviolet rays, existing as a single atom.
‘This makes atomic oxygen highly reactive and causes it to damage material used on the surface of satellites.’
SLATS is coated with materials that are highly resistant to atomic oxygen, and will gather data that can be used to design future satellites that will orbit in this ‘undeveloped’ region.
The satellite, dubbed Tsubame, will drop down below an altitude of 300 kilometers (186 miles) in the next two years, after starting out at around 480km (298 miles).
This will make it the first Earth observation satellite to orbit so low.
According to JAXA, it successfully blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on December 23, and has since sent back the first data to confirm it is stable.
The 400kg Tsubame satellite – the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) – will be used to capture high-resolution images of Earth, and measure oxygen levels, according to New Scientist.
The SLATS ion engine uses xenon gas as propellant, requiring thrust that’s just about the equivalent of the weight of a dime.
The satellite is equipped with an atomic oxygen monitoring system, to measure the concentration of the molecule and its interaction with other materials.
Atomic oxygen increases at super low altitudes as the atmosphere becomes denser, according to JAXA.
And, it’s known to damage satellites’ insulation.
‘Normally, oxygen gas consists of two atoms which enter a covalent bond and form a molecule,’ JAXA explains.
‘Atomic oxygen refers to a state in which oxygen gas separates due to space radiation and ultraviolet rays, existing as a single atom.
‘This makes atomic oxygen highly reactive and causes it to damage material used on the surface of satellites.’
SLATS is coated with materials that are highly resistant to atomic oxygen, and will gather data that can be used to design future satellites that will orbit in this ‘undeveloped’ region.
