Astroscale’s Post

Science is so cool

As we venture further into space, understanding the ballet that governs the motion of objects in this environment is important for those of us trying to keep it safe and sustainable, even if we're not rocket scientists. Enter the field of orbital mechanics, and a nice little cartoon that’s easy to understand for us mere mortals. 😅 Orbital mechanics, often referred to as celestial mechanics, is the branch of physics that deals with the motions of objects in space, such as planets, moons, and artificial satellites. At its core, it involves the application of Newton's laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation to predict and describe the paths these objects take under the influence of various gravitational forces. In essence, it's the science that allows us to send satellites into orbit, plan interplanetary space missions, and understand the natural dance of celestial bodies within our solar system and beyond. For a space lawyer, it's the underlying principle that dictates where and how objects move in space, which is essential for addressing legal aspects of space activity, such as satellite placement, space debris management, and planetary exploration. I love these animations! And if you love space and want to be in on the breaking inside conversations in the space economy, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter, Trailblazers. It’s the fastest-growing space newsletter and it’s free! 👉 https://lnkd.in/gfpUsDDC 🎥 Credit: @aesthetics.science on IG #space #orbitalmechanics #spacelaw #spacesustainability #science

The fascinating subject of Orbital Mechanics!

✨Excited to have completed the first course of the Spacecraft Dynamics and Control Specialization: "Kinematics: Describing the motions of spacecraft"✨ This has easily been the most enjoyable course I’ve taken! 🚀 In this course, I explored how spacecraft, satellites, and space stations move in space and how we can predict and control that motion with precision. It covered key topics, from particle kinematics to rigid body dynamics, and dove deep into attitude descriptions, which are essential for defining a spacecraft’s orientation in space. The course introduced methods like the Directional Cosine Matrix (DCM), Euler Angles, Principal Rotation Vector (PRV), Quaternions, Classical Rodrigues Parameters (CRP), and Modified Rodrigues Parameters (MRP). I want to extend my gratitude to Professor Hanspeter Schaub, University of Colorado Boulder, and Coursera for providing such an insightful and rewarding experience. I now feel confident in: - Differentiating vectors in rotating frames, - Applying the Transport Theorem to solve kinematic problems, - Integrating and predicting orientations over time, - Translating between various attitude descriptions like DCM, Euler Angles, Quaternions, and more. For anyone interested in spacecraft dynamics and control, I highly recommend checking out this course! 🌌 #SpacecraftDynamics #Kinematics #SpaceEngineering #LearningJourney #SatelliteTechnology #SpacecraftControl #ThankYou

The Three-Body Problem refers to the challenge of predicting the motion of three celestial bodies interacting gravitationally, based on Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation. Unlike the simpler two-body problem, the three-body problem does not have a general analytical solution, due to its complex, chaotic nature. Initial attempts to solve it historically, highlighted by Isaac Newton, led to the discovery of special cases like the Lagrange and Euler points, and solutions such as the figure-eight orbit. Today, the problem is primarily addressed through numerical simulation, which aids in practical applications such as spacecraft navigation and studying planetary dynamics. The problem exemplifies how small variations in initial conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes, a characteristic of chaotic systems.

During spaceflight, the central nervous system (CNS) is exposed to a complex array of environmental stressors. However, the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the CNS and the resulting impact to crew health and operational performance remain largely unknown. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding spaceflight-associated changes to the brain as measured by magnetic resonance imaging, particularly as they relate to mission duration. Numerous studies have reported macrostructural changes to the brain after spaceflight, including alterations in brain position, tissue volumes and cerebrospinal fluid distribution and dynamics. Changes in brain tissue microstructure and connectivity were also described, involving regions related to vestibular, cerebellar, visual, motor, somatosensory and cognitive function.

CE/SE is the most advanced LS-DYNA build-in solver for compressible reacting flow. Even more, the CE/SE solver could also be coupled with explicit structural simulations and even include stochastic particles for cases like fuel injection simulation. With CE/SE solver, LS-DYNA can simulate shockwaves from gas mixture detonation interacting with deformable (including fragmentation) geometry. All these capabilities are implemented in Ansys LS-DYNA - highly scalable code for nonlinear coupled structural intensive applications. #Ansys #LSDYNA #CESE

"Physicists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich wanted to know whether the planned LIFE [Large Interferometer for Exoplanets] space mission could really detect traces of life on other planets. Yes, it can. The researchers reached this conclusion with the help of observations of our own planet... What’s unique about the study is that the team tested the future LIFE mission’s capabilities on real rather than simulated spectra. Using data from one of the atmospheric measuring devices on NASA’s Aqua Earth observation satellite, they generated the Earth’s emission spectra in the mid-infrared range, as might be recorded in future observations of exoplanets." - ETH Zürich #satellitedata #earthobservation #exoplanets

Time, which may seem straightforward at first, is actually quite strange and complex in the realm of physics. You might believe that time is the same for everyone, but it isn’t. It’s relative to each observer, depending on the speed of an object and the presence of gravity. This isn’t just a philosophical concept—it’s a very real and physical phenomenon. Einstein’s theory of general relativity reveals that time behaves unusually around massive objects. According to the theory, gravity affects spacetime, causing time to move more slowly near large masses, like stars or black holes. This phenomenon, known as gravitational time dilation, means that a clock closer to a massive object ticks more slowly than one farther away. For instance, astronauts aboard the International Space Station experience time slightly differently than those on Earth due to their higher altitude. When we observe an object 10 light-years away, we perceive that light takes 10 years to reach us (from our perspective). But from light’s point of view, it arrives instantly. This happens because, for light, time has dilated to the point of stopping, and distances have contracted to zero. In fact, space and time are fundamentally connected in what we call spacetime. On a lighter note, "Once upon a time" could actually be phrased as "Once upon a Spacetime."