Researchers have completed the first successful tests in zero gravity of a canopy for CubeSats -- the tiny satellites that hitch rides on rockets sending larger satellites into orbit. The goal is gathering data on what happens when micrometeoroids slam into satellites. Such impacts often knock out electronic equipment on satellites. The encounters are poorly understood, but canopies could be a first step in eventually building "black boxes" for satellites similar to airplane flight recorders.
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Students fly in zero gravity to protect satellites from tiny meteoroids
Nov 19 2010, 07:00 AM
