CubeSats are becoming ever more popular, with around 2,400 total launched so far. However, the small size limits their options for fundamental space exploration technologies, including propulsion. They become even more critical when mission planners design missions that require them to travel to other planets or even asteroids. A team from Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi recently released a review of the different Cubesat propulsion technologies currently available – let’s look at their advantages and disadvantages. The paper breaks propulsion systems into four categories: Chemical, Kinetic, Electrical, and “Propellant-less.” Chemical systems are the traditional rockets most people think of when launching satellites – they burn chemicals together and expel gas created by the fire to produce thrust. Kinetic systems use things like cold gas, where instead of reacting two chemicals together, they simply push gas molecules out to propel themselves in the opposite direction. Electrical systems are similar to kinetic systems but use an electrical system, such as a Hall Effect thruster, to heat the propellant before it is expelled. Lastly, propulsion-less technologies don’t have any active component and instead, passively use the forces from space itself to move about. The most common example of this is solar sails. SciShow Space discusses how CubeSat propulsion systems work.Credit – SciShow Space YouTube Channel Let’s start with chemical propulsion. This is probably the least helpful setup for Cubesats, as the material requirements for handling small explosions make the supporting infrastructure too bulky and heavy to fit into a traditional CubeSat package. Even though some miniaturized systems that could fit in a CubeSat framework have been developed, chemical propellant systems likely won’t take off soon. Kinetic systems are much more common for CubeSats, and the paper breaks them down into two major categories: Cold Gas and Resistojet. In the past, we’ve reported about systems that use everything from ammonia to water as kinetic propellants, which would fall under the Cold Gas. If the gas is heated slightly before release, the system becomes a Resistojet configuration. While the heating is nowhere near the level of explosions used in chemical rockets, it still increases the force of the propellant exiting out the thruster’s nozzle. Electric propulsion is similar in many ways to Kinetic propulsion, but it uses electric energy to heat its propellants before discharge. The paper breaks these technologies into three major categories: Electrothermal discharge, Electrostatic, and Electromagnetic. Electrothermal discharge systems are similar to arcjets, though no system small enough to fit into a Cubesat form factor has yet been developed that can provide the power needed for such a system. CubeSat Developers talk about developing a micro propulsion system.Credit – CubeSat Developers Workshop YouTube Channel Electrospray systems use electrical forces rather than heating to accelerate charged particles used as propellants. Charged particles are accelerated through a magnetic field created by the propulsion system and forced through the thruster’s nozzle at high speed. Electromagnetic systems operate similarly by using an arc to ionize propellant, which is then pushed out by the magnetic field that is formed around the ionized material. Overall, electric systems are becoming more common on CubeSats. Still, their material requirements typically demand high-precision machining and other advanced technologies that make them trickier to develop than simple kinetic systems. Non-propellant systems have become more widespread with the successful test of Lightsail, the Planetary Society’s solar sail technology demonstrator. However, other propellantless technologies, such as tethers or a magnetic sail that powers itself via the magnetic fields floating around the solar system. At the same time, many of these systems remain in the conceptual phase; their ability to provide potentially limitless thrust appeals to Cubesat designers with longer-term missions in mind. However, they are again limited by material development and size constraints, as large structures are required for many of them, and it is challenging to pack those into the confines of a CubeSat.  With all the development going on in the world of CubeSats, more ideas will undoubtedly be mooted in the future. With launch costs coming down, more industries and non-governmental organizations will be interested in how the platform could help them. But no matter where CubeSats end up being used, they will have to trust their propulsion systems to get there. Learn More:Alnaqbi, Darfilal, & Min Swei – Propulsion Technologies for CubeSats: A ReviewUT – The First Cubesat With a Hall-Effect Thruster has Gone to SpaceUT – A Flock of CubeSats Will Use Wings to Maneuver at the Edge of SpaceUT – Pale Blue Successfully Operates its Water-Based Propulsion System in Orbit Lead Image:Two cubesats communicated and then maneuvered towards one another in a recent technology demonstration. Credit: NASA The post CubeSat Propulsion Technologies are Taking Off appeared first on Universe Today.

Bon Jovi's new album certainly didn't live up to its name on the charts. Continue reading…

The June jobs report is here. The U.S. Department of Labor claims that last month American employers added 206,000 jobs. The additional 206,000 jobs exceeded economists’ prediction of 189,000. Private sector job growth, however, fell short of the 160,000 jobs forecast with the addition of 136,000 jobs. Government jobs, which increased by 70,000, picked up the slack. Nevertheless, a downward revision could be coming in the future. The Labor Department revised April and May’s job growth numbers down by a combined 111,000 jobs. April’s job growth went from 165,000 to 108,000, a drop of 57,000. May, meanwhile, had its job numbers revised from 272,000 to 218,000—54,000 fewer jobs. Even with the Labor Department’s revisions, June’s job report marked a slight hiring slow down from May. June’s job report and the downward revisions for April and May show that the three-month average for private-sector hiring was just over 145,000—the slowest private-sector hiring rate since the start of Covid-19. Meanwhile, June saw the unemployment rate increase by a tenth of a percent, from 4 percent to 4.1 percent, which is fairly low but still the highest rate of unemployment since November 2021. Economists predicted no change in the unemployment rate. The increase, however, is largely due to the 277,000 people who re-entered the labor market and began looking for work in June. Wages, on the other hand, matched economic forecasts. In June, average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, whereas the twelve-month wage growth remained at 3.9 percent—the lowest since June 2021. Though the job market appears to be heading for a slowdown, the numbers are fairly strong given the high interest rate environment. Which is why the Federal Reserve will be paying close attention to the June jobs report and the slowdown it portends.  While the Fed has taken a soft approach to rectifying the American economy’s struggles, June’s jobs report could potentially trigger an earlier than expected rate cut. Previously, Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the Fed could act more quickly if job growth started to weaken. Yet, markets are predicting that a rate cut will come in September and not after the Fed’s meeting at the end of July. The real question: Are these numbers good enough to save President Joe Biden come November? But an American economy that’s just limping along is not the president’s biggest worry at the moment. The post June Jobs Report: American Economy Limps On appeared first on The American Conservative.

Former President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social Friday to distance himself from Project 2025, which seeks to provide a personnel database and policy proposals to aid the next president in taking on the administrative state. Project 2025 was created by the conservative Heritage Foundation. Trump said that knows nothing about Project 2025 and has “nothing to do” with it.  ?????? pic.twitter.com/aLwHei6LQ8— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 5, 2024 Trump added that he disagrees with “some of the things” put forward by Project 2025, and that some of the policy proposals are “ridiculous and abysmal.” He did not specify which proposals he disagreed with. The post Trump Denounces Project 2025 appeared first on The American Conservative.

USA Today Columnist Somehow Unsure If There’s a Link Between Police and Crime Rates

Trump Claps Back at Project 2025 | Agenda 47 Is The Real Deal [VIDEO]

...brain matter scattered throughout parts of the alley.