Description
To approximate the dynamics presented by these missions, the testbed consists of three miniaturized satellites, microsatellites or "spheres," which can control their relative positions and orientations, and is operable on a 2-D laboratory platform, NASA's KC-135, and the International Space Station. The testbed is being developed jointly by the MIT Space Systems Laboratory and Aurora Flight Sciences (Formerly Payload Systems, inc.), with funding from the Department of Defense and several NASA centers.
The battery-powered, 8-inch-diameter (200 mm) satellites fly within the ISS cabin using carbon dioxide to fuel 12 thrusters.
Read more about this topic: SPHERES
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)
“He hath achieved a maid
That paragons description and wild fame;
One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St. Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)