An apparatus includes a satellite in the form of a plate having a thickness being smaller than a width of the satellite. The apparatus also includes a plurality of contact points distributed on a face of the satellite, allowing for one or more additional satellites to be stacked upon the satellite.

A modular satellite for converting solar energy to microwave energy and transmitting the microwave energy to the earth to be converted into electricity includes solar panels configured to convert solar energy into direct current; a magnetron operatively connected to the solar panels to receive the direct current and configured to convert the direct current into microwave energy; a planar wave guide antenna operatively connected to the magnetron to receive the microwave energy and direct the microwave energy to a station on earth; and a coupling system for coupling with another satellite to form an array in response to at least one of locking, unlocking, and navigational commands. The satellite has a mass equal to or less than four kilograms, and a volume equal to or less than three liters.

Systems and methods for interconnecting dual manifested spacecraft for launch by a launch vehicle are disclosed. Different motive forces are utilized to couple a first spacecraft to a second spacecraft and to restrict demating of the second spacecraft from the first spacecraft. Some systems and methods utilize pneumatic pressure to permit mating of a first spacecraft to a second spacecraft and utilize spring force to restrict demating of the second spacecraft from the first spacecraft.

The present technology relates to an imaging method of a satellite system and a transmission device that enable to perform imaging of an artificial satellite in accordance with an event having occurred on the ground, in remote sensing by the artificial satellite. The satellite system includes: the transmission device installed on the earth; and the artificial satellite having an imaging device. The transmission device transmits an imaging instruction to the artificial satellite passing in the sky, in accordance with a predetermined event detected by a sensor installed on the earth, and the artificial satellite performs imaging of an event occurrence region on the basis of the imaging instruction. The present technology can be applied to, for example, an artificial satellite or the like that performs satellite remote sensing.

A control system includes a target spacecraft and a swarm of chaser spacecraft. Each chaser spacecraft is controlled to follow a corresponding computed trajectory. The system also includes at least one computing device that executes a nested genetic algorithm. The nested genetic algorithm includes multiple guidance genetic algorithms and an outer genetic algorithm. Characteristically, each chaser spacecraft has an associated guidance genetic algorithm that determines a computed trajectory for the chaser spacecraft associated therewith. Advantageously, the outer genetic algorithm checks for collisions and is configured to alter one or more computed trajectories to avoid collisions.

Provided is a method and system of evaluating a constellation spare strategy based on a stochastic time Petri net, which is applied in the technical field of constellation operation management. The method comprises: constructing a single satellite STPN model and an orbital plane STPN model, and establishing a navigation constellation STPN model that includes multiple spare strategies according to the single satellite STPN model and the orbital plane STPN model; establishing an availability model according to the number of malfunctioning satellites and the constellation value (CV) in the navigation constellation STPN model, and establishing a cost model according to operating costs of the navigation constellation STPN model; and evaluating the navigation constellation STPN model using the availability model and the cost model, and determining a target spare strategy from the multiple spare strategies according to an evaluation result.

A nanosatellite with an illumination element, and an arrangement of nanosatellites in low earth orbit (LEO) arranged to controllably apply their illumination to be visible on the ground. The nanosatellites may be coordinated to provide illumination events visible on the ground at particular locations and particular times. Each nanosatellite has an illumination element that provides a sustained external illumination event being of at least momentary duration and to be visible from the ground. The event forms at least part of a display for viewing from the ground.

Methods and apparatus for Real-time Satellite Imaging System (10) are disclosed. More particularly, one embodiment of the present invention an imaging sensor (14) on a geostationary satellite having one or more co-collimated telescopes (18). The telescopes (18) illuminate local planes (22) which are sparsely populated with focal plane arrays (24). The focal plane arrays (24) record the entire observable Earth hemisphere at one time, at least once every ten seconds.

The present disclosure provides a satellite control method and apparatus, comprising: receiving a to-be-photographed target site input by a user; calculating first moment information corresponding to each satellite entering the target site, according to location information of the target site and operation orbit information of the each satellite in a plurality of satellites; and determining, from the plurality of satellites, at least one to-execute satellite to photograph the target site according to the first moment information corresponding to the each satellite entering the target site.

A satellite constellation forming system forms a satellite constellation (20) having a plurality of orbital planes (21) in each of which a plurality of satellites fly at the same orbital altitude. A satellite constellation forming unit forms the satellite constellation (20) in which orbital altitudes of the orbital planes (21) are mutually different. Furthermore, in the satellite constellation (20), relative altitude differences between adjacent orbital planes in the plurality of orbital planes are sequentially arranged to be sinusoidal. The satellite constellation forming unit sequentially changes an orbital altitude (23) of each orbital plane of the plurality of orbital planes while maintaining a sinusoidal arrangement of the relative altitude differences between adjacent orbital planes in the plurality of orbital planes.