On 12th November, NASA had launched the TechEdSat-6, the technology educational satellite from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility located in Virginia. It was launched to the International Space Station. The Satellite was launched by the Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft. Now, as per the latest report, the satellite will now start some of the tests like Exo-Brake parachute device, wireless sensor network, and advanced communication system. Including this, this is the fourth TechEdSat satellite carrying an upgraded version of the Exo-Brake.
As per the report, it will be the first self-powered tests.
“The Exo-Brake’s shape can be changed to vary the drag on the satellite. With the help of high-fidelity simulations, we will demonstrate a low-cost, propellant-less method of returning small payloads quickly, and to fairly precise locations, for retrieval,” said Michelle Munk, NASA’s System Capability Lead for Entry, Descent, and Landing. “We are excited about tracking TechEdSat-6 as it re-enters the atmosphere.”
As per the report, after the demonstration, the finding will help NASA to develop building blocks and for large-scale systems which will help the small Space Craft Mission to reach Mars’s surface and solar system’s other places.
The Exo-Brake is funded by the Entry Systems Modeling project within the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program. Additional funding for the Exo-Brake is provided by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and the agency’s Engineering and Safety Center in Hampton, Virginia.
