A disclosed spacecraft is provided with: an attitude control actuator configured to control an attitude of the spacecraft; an imaging device configured to receive an optical communication signal from another spacecraft; and an attitude controller configured to control the attitude control actuator, based on a position of the optical communication signal in an image obtained by the imaging device.

The present invention discloses a partition satellite mission planning method for earliest completion of regional target coverage, which includes the following steps: 1. partitioning a to-be-observed rectangular region; 2. allocating observation resources to different regions and selecting certain coverage opportunities and coverage modes thereof to minimize completion time corresponding to a formed coverage solution. The present invention can obtain a satisfactory solution capable of finishing complete coverage of regional targets as early as possible with sufficient observation resources through suitable calculation resources and achieve balance between the consumption of calculation resources and optimality of solutions, so that satellite resources can be fully used to conduct the quick and effective coverage search for important regional targets in a real environment.

Solar radiation is collected and converted to microwave energy by means maintained in outer space on one or more platforms in space. The microwave energy is then transmitted to earth and directed to and constantly focused on one or more segments of a generally circular and slowly rotating tropical depression, which is a precursor to a tropical storm and then a hurricane (alternatively called a cyclone or typhoon). The focused microwave energy interrupts the cycle of vertical upward and downward movement of air, water, & water vapor, and destabilizes the developing rotational motion of the tropical depression, causing it to break up and dissipate, and preventing it from ultimately developing into a hurricane. When not focusing microwave energy on a tropical depression, the microwave energy can alternatively be used to create earth based solar energy, which would help alleviate costs of operating the system solely for hurricane prevention.

Systems and methods for controlling satellites are provided. In one example embodiment, a computing system can obtain a request for image data. The request can be associated with a priority for acquiring the image data. The computing system can determine an availability of a plurality of satellites to acquire the image data based at least in part on the request. The computing system can select from among a plurality of communication pathways to transmit an image acquisition command to a satellite based at least in part on the request priority. The plurality of communication pathways can include a communication pathway via which the image acquisition command is indirectly communicated to the satellite via a geostationary satellite. The computing system can send the image acquisition command to the selected satellite via the selected communication pathway.

Provided are an information processing device and the like capable of presenting a user-desired observation result to the user rapidly in a case where observation is performed using observation satellites. The information processing device comprises receiving means for receiving a request to acquire observation data based on a result of observing a designated range at a designated time, specifying means for using orbit information for a plurality of observation satellites to specify an observation satellite with which the designated range can be observed on or after the designated time from among the plurality of observation satellites, and acquiring means for acquiring requested observation data, that is, the observation data which is generated by the specified observation satellite and which is based on a result of observing the designated range on or after the designated time.

A hyperspectral stereoscopic CubeSat with computer vision and artificial intelligence capabilities consists of a device and a data processing methodology. The device comprises a number of VIS-NIR-TIR hyperspectral sensors, a central processor with memory, a supervisor system running independently of the imager system, radios, a solar panel and battery system, and an active attitude control system. The device is launched into low earth orbit to capture, process, and transmit stereoscopic hyperspectral imagery in the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The processing methodology therein comprises computer vision and convolutional neural network algorithms to perform spectral feature identification and data transformations.

Systems and methods are provided for scheduling objects having pair-wise and cumulative constraints. The systems and methods presented can utilize a directed acyclic graph to increase or maximize a utilization function. The objects can comprise satellites in a constellation of satellites. In some implementations, the satellites are imaging satellites, and the systems and methods for scheduling can use human collaboration to determine events of interest for acquisition of images. In some implementations, dominant edges are removed from the directed acyclic graph. In some implementations, dynamic weights are assigned to nodes associated with downlink events in the directed acyclic graph.

A multi-user satellite system provides communication services to external satellites. This satellite system provides in-orbit access points that can be used by the external satellites to offload data instead on relying directly on ground stations. One approach to such communication is to use a set of interface satellites (“converter satellites”) that provide a gateway between a constellation of satellites that together provide communication services to one or more ground stations, but that do not necessarily have the communication capabilities to communicate with external satellites. In this way, the interface satellites can be put in compatible orbits with external satellites and provide communication gateways that can be used to offload data from the external satellites to ground stations. As external satellites change their communication methods, the interface satellites can be reconfigured or new compatible interface satellites can be launched, without having to modify the constellation of satellites.

Pointing interfaces that can be used to assemble/disassemble instruments/payloads from a spacecraft/host are disclosed. The disclosed interfaces provide structural, communications, power, and fluid connections (for thermal control). Such interfaces also provide active and passive vibration isolation capability for precision pointing. They can further act as an interface to the launch vehicle for secondary delivery of the instrument/payload to the spacecraft

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.