For over a century people have floated the idea of a space elevator – which is exactly what it sounds like – but the logistics of that just aren’t possible yet. Now Japan has launched a pair of satellites to test out some technologies that might help make a space elevator a reality in future.
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The ASTERIA satellite has claimed the first exoplanet to be detected by a CubeSat. It was able to accurately measure the transit light curve of 55 Cancri e as it passed in front of its parent star.
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When the latest Cygnus cargo mission to the SS lifts off, its manifest will include three CubeSats, including the first equipped with radar. The size of three cereal boxes and weighing only 26 lb (11.8 kg) each, the miniature satellites will be used to demonstrate new technologies in orbit.
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In a nod to the famous Pale Blue Dot image sent back by Voyager 1, the MarCO-B CubeSat has beamed back its own image of the Earth and the Moon. It's the first image from the two MarCO CubeSats and was transmitted a day after they reached a distance of 1 million km (621.371 mi) from the Earth.
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When NASA's InSight mission to Mars lifts off on May 5, it won't be alone. Nestled inside the Atlas V launcher on the aft bulkhead carrier of the Centaur upper stage will be two CubeSats that will make up the Mars Cube One mission, or MarCO.
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ESA’s next technology-testing CubeSat will be fitted with two tiny butane-powered thrusters, making it the agency’s first miniature satellite with the capacity to move through space under its own power.
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NASA is carrying out pre-commissioning tests on a small satellite that could have a big impact on future missions. The shoebox-sized Dellingr spacecraft is designed to not only carry out science operations, but to demonstrate that it is possible to produce robust CubeSats with a low failure rate.
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Humanity’s first “space nation”, Asgardia, is a step closer to getting off the ground after its first satellite was launched last week. The end goal is for millions of people to live on satellites, but don’t pack your bags just yet: Asgardia-1 is just a CubeSat carrying 500 GB of pictures and text.
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Most CubeSats don’t pack their own propulsion systems, instead hitchhiking into orbit aboard other satellite launches. Now, to make them more maneuverable, researchers have developed a system that would allow the mini satellites to safely propel themselves by spraying jets of ordinary water.
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Look upwards tonight and you might just see a new “star” streaking across the sky. A Russian CubeSat called Mayak (meaning "lighthouse") was successfully launched on Friday, and is set to be one of the brightest objects in the night sky.
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