This is the first photograph taken by a microsatellite of another object in space that has ever been released to the general public?? Now wait a minute!! The earlier mission of XSS-10 micro-satellite snapped this image as it closed in on second stage of Boeing Delta 2 rocket during mission operations in January 2003. Image Credit: Boeing. IMAGE: http://www.space.com/images/h_xss_10_delta2_02.jpg According to Popular Communications Magazine, they filed a Freedom of Information Act request for photographs taken by the microsatellite in September, with the hope of running them in Popular Science's November cover story "Battlefield Space". However, they were told that they were "classified." I've used the XSS-10/Boeing photo a few times in stories I've done. Its not classified and was taken in January 2003. At 05:23 PM 10/31/2005 -0700, Daniel Webb wrote: >http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviationspace/c75af8183ef27010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html > > This is the first photograph taken by a microsatellite of another object in >space that has ever been released to the general public. The object near the >center is the upper stage of a Minotaur I rocket that was used to launch the >Experimental Satellite System-11, commonly known as XSS-11. The photograph was >taken by the digital "witness camera" aboard XSS-11, a dishwasher-size >microsatellite developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. > >XSS-11 was launched in April and has since conducted numerous "proximity >operations"?approaching and maneuvering around the spent Minotaur rocket stage >at distances as close as 500 meters (the distance at which this photo was >taken, about a third of a mile). Over the next year, the spacecraft will >rendezvous with several other U.S.-owned dead or inactive objects in space. > ><snip> > >Out of curiosity, how far from its original orbit could this satellite >possibly maneuver? In the factsheet put out by the Air Force Research Lab: > >http://www.vs.afrl.af.mil/FactSheets/XSS11-MicroSatellite.pdf > >they say that it will observe objects "near" its own orbit. I don't know that >much about astrodynamics, so this may be a naive question, but wouldn't they >have to have a lot of these up in various orbits if they wanted to be able to >attack (oops, I mean "inspect") any arbitrary satellite? Or are there tricks >they can play with orbital dynamics to get to any satellite with enough >patience? > >Also, is this too off-topic? > >------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: >http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Nov 01 2005 - 17:25:50 EST
