Stack \u2019em high\u2026 \u201cDiskSat is a lightweight, compact, flat disc-shaped satellite designed for optimizing future rideshare launches,\u201d the Aerospace Corporation said in a statement. The DiskSats are 39 inches (1 meter) wide, about twice the diameter of a New York-style pizza, and measure just 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick. Made of composite carbon fiber, each satellite carries solar cells, control avionics, reaction wheels, and an electric thruster to change and maintain altitude. The flat design allows DiskSats to be stacked one on top of the other for launch. The format also has significantly more surface area than other small satellites with comparable mass, making room for more solar cells for high-power missions or large-aperture payloads like radar imaging instruments or high-bandwidth antennas. NASA and the US Space Force cofunded the development and launch of the DiskSat demo mission.<\/p>\n
The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger’s and Stephen Clark’s reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We’ll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n
Sign Me SpaceX warns of dangerous Chinese launch. <\/b>China\u2019s recent deployment of nine satellites occurred dangerously close to a Starlink satellite, SpaceX\u2019s vice president of Starlink engineering said. Michael Nicolls wrote in a December 12 social media post that there was a 200-meter close approach between a satellite launched December 10 on a Chinese Kinetica-1 rocket and SpaceX\u2019s Starlink-6079 spacecraft at 560 kilometers (348 miles) altitude, Aviation Week and Space Technology reports<\/a>. \u201cMost of the risk of operating in space comes from the lack of coordination between satellite operators\u2014this needs to change,\u201d Nicolls wrote.<\/p>\n Blaming the customer… The company in charge of the Kinetica-1 rocket, CAS Space, responded to Nicolls\u2019 post on X saying it would \u201cwork on identifying the exact details and provide assistance.\u201d In a follow-up post on December 13, CAS Space said the close call, if confirmed, occurred nearly 48 hours after the satellite separated from the Kinetica-1 rocket, by which time the launch mission had long concluded. \u201cCAS Space will coordinate with satellite operators to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Up!<\/a><\/p>\n