Future Robot Space Explorers, Technological Developments |
Future Robot Space Explorers, Technological Developments |
Dec 12 2005, 08:29 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2454 Joined: 8-July 05 From: NGC 5907 Member No.: 430 |
Robotic 'spiders' could be the key to building large-scale structures in space,
according to ESA's Advanced Concepts Team. The tiny mechanical spiders would inch their way across large nets of fabric in space performing small tasks or lining up to create an antenna or some other structure. Full story: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMHVXVLWFE_index_0.html ************************* Exploring Caves with Hopping Microbots Astrobiology Magazine Dec. 8, 2005 ************************* NASA-funded researchers are developing "hopping microbots" capable of exploring hazardous terrain, including underground caves and one day, to search for life below the surface of... http://www.kurzweilai.net/email/newsRedire...sID=5103&m=7610 -------------------- "After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance. I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard, and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft." - Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853 |
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May 2 2006, 03:32 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2454 Joined: 8-July 05 From: NGC 5907 Member No.: 430 |
ENERGY TECH
- Researchers Focus On Spacecraft Power Storage http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Research...er_Storage.html Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) May 02, 2006 - By the summer of 2007, a team of eight personnel serving at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., believe their experiment consisting of three flywheels, spinning between 16,000 and 40,000 revolutions per minute, will demonstrate the innovative technology of combined attitude control and energy storage on a satellite. -------------------- "After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance. I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard, and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft." - Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853 |
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May 2 2006, 06:00 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 624 Joined: 10-August 05 Member No.: 460 |
ENERGY TECH - Researchers Focus On Spacecraft Power Storage http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Research...er_Storage.html Kirtland AFB NM (SPX) May 02, 2006 - By the summer of 2007, a team of eight personnel serving at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., believe their experiment consisting of three flywheels, spinning between 16,000 and 40,000 revolutions per minute, will demonstrate the innovative technology of combined attitude control and energy storage on a satellite. QUOTE "Once it is proven that flywheels can store and convert energy into electricity while simultaneously controlling satellite orientation, they will eliminate the need for heavy, chemical batteries on many satellite systems, thus significantly reducing spacecraft weight," he noted. That is a tall order, because you are basically substituting a fixed rotational inertia with a variable one, and predicting small changes in position on the bases of known changes in load - known, according to some accurate measure of current. The navigational accuracy would be slightly less than the combined temperature compensation and radiational shielding of the system. Lots of variables here. |
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May 2 2006, 06:54 PM
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Dublin Correspondent Group: Admin Posts: 1799 Joined: 28-March 05 From: Celbridge, Ireland Member No.: 220 |
That is a tall order, because you are basically substituting a fixed rotational inertia with a variable one, and predicting small changes in position on the bases of known changes in load - known, according to some accurate measure of current. Interesting idea but I also can't see that it would be possible to accurately manage orientation\roll rates with just three such flywheels. It would be simpler with 6 (2 contra rotating flywheels for each axis). And then there is the question of redundancy. Possibly I've missed out on some stunning advances in mechanical engineering over the past few years but I suspect that this is something that really is only at a proof of concept level and a long way from being practical for long term\range missions. |
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