NASA isplanningto launch a group of miniature space vehicle thatare set to have a pregnant impact on ground - infinite communication and technology . This project is known as the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration ( OCSD ) and includes three satellites to be sent into orbital cavity in the next few months .
These tiny satellite , known as CubeSats , have the stock size of 10 x 10 x 17 centimeters ( roughly 4 x 4 x 6.7 in ) . With this move , NASA seems to be following a current tendency in the private sector of the space industriousness to develop small , lighter instruments , such as theARKYDfrom Planetary Resources . The launching cost of satellites and instrumentation depends on the mass of the object that needs to get into orbit , and for this reason NASA is adorn in compact technology .
The first launching will investigate how to improve space communication . Most satellites pass with the terra firma using microwave , and the nominal top speed attain using this technology is50 Mb per second base . For the CubeSats currently in orbit , the figure is closer to 2 megabits per second . microwave necessitate emit and receive antennas , and they ’re relatively energetically intensive . NASA ’s current alternative is optical laser communication , which could be used for both small satellites and abstruse blank geographic expedition .
Because the optical maser is fix in place , beams are directed by pointing the entire CubeSat towards a receiver , in this case aphotodiodedetector attached to a very received 30 - centimeter ( 12 - inch ) scope . With an expected pep pill of 200 megabits per second , the optical maser communication will allow the squad to chop-chop download selective information regarding science experiments , imaging and data from the satellite detector .
A second launch is planned for early 2016 . Two CubeSats will be launched together to carry on the laser communication testing , as well as to do close proximity operations . The satellites will put across and interact directly with each other , a capability that has never been establish in space . The ability for these satellite to “ bond ” and work as a clump could lead to a momentous shift in feeler to space technology .
The winner of these “ pathfinder ” commission , as well as the rise of private enterprises in space launching , could lead to dispirited - toll science missions and rapid creation in the sphere . Miniaturization of technology is an essential exploitation in NASA ’s journey to Mars .
