8 LF Thomas Consulting https://www.lfthomas.co.uk Bringing more people into science, technology, engineering and maths Thu, 10 Dec 2015 11:34:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.9.7 Types of Satellites https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/types-satellites/ Mon, 28 Jul 2014 09:44:58 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=636 As promised, here is the next in my series on satellites that began with my previous post. Next, I’ll follow up with a post on satellite orbits.

There are four main types of satellites mentioned here: Earth Observation, Navigation, Communication and Universe Observation.

Earth Observation (EO)

The very first satellite sent into orbit was a simple radio transmitter, broadcasting a signal using four antennas. The Russians had intended to send a much more complicated instrument into space as its first satellite, but changed their plans to ensure they launched before the Americans. Sputnik 1 launched in 1957 and offered scientists an insight into the atmosphere. The drag of the satellite gave an idea of the density of the upper atmosphere and the journey of the radio signals back to the surface gave details of the ionosphere.

Since this first launch many hundreds of satellites have been used to study, learn and track changes on Earth and in our atmosphere. There is a very rich source of data now available above us and we are starting to see innovation in how we use the information from the EO satellites. This is known as a “downstream” application in the Space Industry and it is a very creative and technical field. By looking back down at the surface, we can get a broader view of how we live and by analysing the data provided by the satellites, we can perhaps improve the way we do things.

Disaster management is an area that is benefiting from satellite data. If an earthquake affects an area, then the images obtained from satellites can show where the response needs to be concentrated and can highlight blocked routes into the region that need to be dealt with to ensure supply of aid.

By monitoring the changing landscape of the Earth over time, we can see the change in the Polar ice caps and the level of de-forestation in areas such as South America. The level of detail available means that individual forests can be targeted and tracked allowing for improved management of our resources but we are also gathering huge amounts of information that could contribute to the understanding of climate change.

The Earth is constantly bombarded by radiation and one major source is the Sun. Satellites can be used to monitor the Sun’s weather and if there is a large sunspot and explosion of material towards the Earth we can also track the impact on the atmosphere. This tracking allows for protection of other satellites in orbit, as they can change position and attempt to shield themselves from the oncoming particles.

Weather monitoring and prediction has benefited from having access to a wealth of imaging and other data. The Met Office can run sophisticated computer models based on extensive real-time data. This doesn’t just impact on whether you need to take an umbrella out with you in the morning, but will affect shipping and aircraft routes and planning.

Navigation

How do you find your way around an unfamiliar place? You could ask for directions to your destination, but most likely you’ll take out your smartphone and use satellite navigation. To find your location your phone needs to know the time it takes for a signal to travel from a satellite to your phone. It then uses this to calculate the distance to the satellite. This is then repeated for a further 3 different satellites.

At the moment the satellites your phone connects to are free to use and are part of the Global Positioning System (GPS) owned by United States. From 2016 Europe will have its own network of satellites called Galileo. The current GPS system will give you a position accurate to 10 metres, whilst the Galileo system will eventually give up to 1 metre accuracy. Satellites for navigation have many different applications and implications.

Trains can be monitored using navigation satellites, meaning that the rail network can be managed efficiently with trains being re-routed or amendments to timetables made based on real-time incidents. The same can be applied to road traffic.

Commercial companies can monitor their fleet, whether they are road vehicles, trains, ships or planes. This makes managing logistics more cost-effective.

Personalised services are now being offered based on your location. Some smartphone apps allow you to have access to discounts based on your location, or your internet search results can be automatically tailored to where you are.

Navigation for cars, cycles and pedestrians is also available via smartphones or specialist devices. These use maps combined with GPS to give you route information. However, be careful! If your device can’t find four different satellites (for example if you’re in a built-up area) then it won’t be able to provide you with a route.

Communication

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the first to predict the use of satellites for the purpose of communication. Published in Wireless World in 1945, he specifically talked about the use of three geostationary satellites (satellites that orbit above the same point on the Earth) but it wasn’t until the early 1960s before this became reality. You can read the full text here.

Satellites are used to broadcast many different types of signals. They host streams to allow us to talk by mobile phone, but they also broadcast high-quality video of sporting events and news as they happen. There are many different owners of communication satellites, some will be commercial and others will be owned by governments for the sole use of their armed forces.

One key future use of satellites for communication will be bringing a high-speed internet connection to remote locations. As an example we can look at UK-based company Avanti. They are using their satellites to offer 100% coverage for broadband in a set geographical area. In the UK only 73% of households have access to broadband, whilst in the Netherlands this is 100%. There is a lot of existing infrastructure in the UK so the broadband coming into your house is most likely to be via a cable network rather than through a satellite signal. However, if you go to remote locations in Africa, the same infrastructure isn’t there but through companies like Avanti communities still have access to the internet using a connection with a satellite.

Universe Observation

Gazing up at the sky is an activity we humans have occupied ourselves with for thousands of years. As we have learned more about the universe as technology developed, the more we wanted to see. One barrier to what we can see has turned out to be our own, protective atmosphere. As light passes through the atmosphere its path is affected and what we see on the ground is a smeared out version of the actual image. In the giant telescopes that are being built and used in places like Chile have sophisticated electronically controlled mirrors that compensate for this effect of our atmosphere. However, we can get around this by having our telescopes and instruments above the atmosphere.

The Hubble Space Telescope is in orbit around the Earth and allows us to see wonderful detail of our universe. Since launching in 1990, it has allowed us to see stars forming in nebulas and the earliest galaxies in its “Deep Field” image. We have also seen evidence for black holes and extra-solar planets. Being above the atmosphere means we can see that much more. It is still operational and will be joined in 2018 by the James Webb Space Telescope. This satellite will take images in visible wavelengths (from orange) through to mid-infrared, whilst Hubble’s pictures are in the visible, ultra-violet and near infrared areas of the electromagnetic spectrum. We will be able to continue the detective work of unravelling the history of the universe with this telescope.

In addition to telescopes that have multiple targets, we have specialist satellites that observe either one target or investigate one type of object. One example is the Kepler mission. This is searching for extra-solar planets by observing the light curve from stars. If there is a regular dip in the curve, this could be caused by a planet moving between the star and the satellite. Kepler is not an Earth satellite, but orbits around the Sun every 372 days and this maximises the observations.

 

There are many, many examples of all types of satellites and more being designed all the time. Satellites come in all different shapes and sizes, have different owners and very different purposes. What they do have in common is the impact that they have had on the way we live our lives and the knowledge we have gained about the Earth and the universe.

Satellite resources are available from the National STEM Centre e-library.

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What do a beach ball, a shoe box and a washing machine have in common? https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/beachball/ Fri, 11 Jul 2014 16:14:02 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=631 They’re all the sizes of satellites that have made their mark:

– Sputnik: the first satellite launched in 1957 was about the size of a beach ball

– UKube: the first Scottish satellite is roughly the size of a shoe box

– TechDemoSat1: the first satellite to launch with a payload using CERN technology and led by a school and is washing machine sized

 

Following Sputnik’s successful launch in 1957 , I’m sure it was difficult to predict the impact satellites would have on our lives (although Arthur C. Clarke was accurate with his predictions, but unfortunately there was only one Arthur C. Clarke). This week we have seen two firsts: one for Scotland and one for a school. Clyde Space and the Langton Star Centre launched their satellites on board the same ROSCOSMOS Soyuz-2 rocket out of Baikonaur on Tuesday at 16:58 BST.

The investment in both these firsts are from a variety of government agencies, funding councils and other organisations. This financing approach is giving access to space to UK groups that would not normally be able to afford it. I’m looking forward to hearing about the successful operation of the satellites and hope it will encourage others to develop innovative ideas to be flown in space.

Clyde Space

Glasgow company Clyde Space have designed and built UKube-1. It’s known as a nanosatellite, but it’s just over 30cm long, 10 cm wide and 10 cm high. Despite its compact size the diverse technology on board is impressive. The payloads are from universities and examples include the study of space weather and a camera for earth imaging. New satellite technologies are also being tested.

There is a public engagement project aspect to one of the payloads, which is great to see. Pupils can gather telemetry from the Funcube project using a USB dongle and can use the information to carry out their own research.

It’s great to see innovative companies like Clyde Space succeeding in Scotland. Here’s hoping that in the future we’ll have the graduates and skilled workforce companies  will need in the expanding space sector.

Clyde Space

Funcube

Langton Star Centre

I had the privilege of meeting teacher Becky Parker on the train from London on our way to the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow in 2008. From her I found out about the school’s association with CERN and their fantastic idea to use their detector technology to measure cosmic rays. What is immediately apparent when you meet Becky is her passion for pupils to have access to do their own research. At the time I was working for Queen Mary, University of London on outreach projects for the maths and physics departments and I was able to put her in touch with Steve Lloyd who works on GridPP, the computing grid used to analyse data at CERN. It’s great to see the association with GridPP continue.

The project is known as LUCID (Langton Ultimate Cosmic Ray Intensity Detector) and over the years pupils have learned to code, they held meetings with scientists and developed their ideas into a physical existence. They have a mission control set up inside the school where they will receive data.

The technology on board the spacecraft is backed up by a project on the ground called CERN@School. Schools can host a detector similar to the ones flown to collect particle physics data at their location.

Their detector launched on TechDemoSat-1, developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). It’s larger than the Clyde Space satellite at one metre cubed and has 7 payloads in addition to LUCID. This is essentially a platform for testing space technologies that would not normally be available due to the cost. It is hoped that this flight will provide proof of concept for some of the payloads on board and for aspects of the satellite technology.

Congratulations to Becky, the school and all the pupils over the years who contributed to this fantastic project.

Langton Star Centre Mission Control

CERN@School

GridPP

Following on from the excitement of launch, I’ve decided to go for a couple of follow-up blogs on satellites in July. One will be on the locations of the different orbits for the different types of satellites and how they get there and another will look at the range of different uses of satellites.

 

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Spaceport Scotland? https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/spaceport-scotland/ Fri, 02 May 2014 14:34:29 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=605 Scotland from space v2

NASA image by Norman Kuring, Ocean Color Team, Goddard Space Flight Center

I have always wanted to travel into space, but in general I’m not a big fan of flying long distances. Whenever my family went on holiday when I was a child, we went via car and ferry to France. Living in Scotland, this meant 9 or 10 hours in the car before a night and a B&B and then onto the ferry and it was great! I still enjoy travelling by car (which was a bonus last year on my lecture tour where I clocked around 20,000 miles) and train but flying out of Scotland for any long distance usually meant catching a flight to London before catching a connection that usually flew back over our house.

The prospect of being a space tourist in the future is coming closer and closer to becoming a reality thanks to investment from governments and commercial operators. SpaceX are working to radically reduce the cost of access to space and with the development of their re-usable rockets flying along this might not be far away. Virgin Galactic and other similar space tourism providers are hoping to start launches in the coming years, although £100,000 is still a bit too expensive for me. Alas I’m not going to be an innovator or early adopter, maybe not even in the early majority – it all depends on how quickly the cost comes down.

The hope is that with investment and innovation in space flight technologies in the coming decades the cost for a space tourist will come down into the tens of thousands, rather than in the hundreds. This is what I dream of: a holiday in space! Although until recently when I imagined my first flight, I saw myself in the middle of the New Mexico desert or in Baikonaur, Kazakhstan. I didn’t imagine that I would be able to drive up to the launch complex, but this could be what happens.

The UK Space industry has been growing healthily over the previous decade and has continued to do so through the economic downturn. The industry is made up of a range of areas and can be segmented into “upstream” (focus is on sending items into space, eg satellites and building instruments for space exploration) and “downstream” (this area uses the knowledge and technology that come from the upstream segment and applies it in many different ways). The government has responded to an industry proposal for investment to ensure the UK has 10% of the global space market by 2030. Part of this includes investigating the opportunities for having a space port in the UK.

I find the prospect incredibly exciting. I was lucky enough to see a Shuttle Launch in the 1990s when I was on holiday in Florida and it was a brilliant experience. I love watching rocket launches (I now watch them online) as you get a sense of the power and control required to escape gravity at the surface. In future if I ever get a chance to see any kind of rocket launch live I will jump at the chance. Having a resource like this in the UK would also be inspiring for young people and help to anchor their ambitions as being something they can achieve in this country.

The benefit for industry would be to secure and reduce cost of access to space for UK companies and perhaps would encourage development in the area of commercial spaceflight in the UK if they knew there was somewhere to launch from. It is becoming more and more difficult for companies to secure launches from existing sites. The site itself will need to be in a remote area, likely next to the coast and away from busy airline routes.

Discussion around the technicalities is ongoing and this includes any implications relating to the Outer Space Act, however I’m looking forward to seeing how this develops. In the short to medium term this could just provide satellite launches but it would be wonderful if, when the time comes, I can make the relatively short journey into space from Scotland. I just need to keep saving!

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Mission Focus: Cassini https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/mission-focus-cassini/ Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:52:25 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=592 Photo by Michael Cockerham

Professor Carl Murray
Photo by Michael Cockerham

In the first of a series of short articles looking at space missions I wanted to start with a brief introduction to the Cassini Mission to Saturn. When I worked at Queen Mary, I had colleagues who enjoyed regularly talking about their research. One of my favourite people to listen to talk about their work is Professor Carl Murray. Carl is in the School of Physics and Astronomy and is the only UK member of the Cassini Imaging team. He is interested in the rings and moons of Saturn, specifically the F-ring. He has been involved in discovering new moons of Saturn and recently there has been broad coverage of the discovery of a moon during its birth – really exciting stuff! His enthusiasm for discovery is infectious and whenever I leave his office I always find myself thinking about ways in which I could still go on and complete a PhD, not to get the qualification, but to get that feeling of discovery. Carl successfully uses the tools on the Cassini spacecraft to discover more about the behaviour of the rings and moons of Saturn.

The Cassini spacecraft launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. In addition to the orbiter, there was a lander called Huygens which touched down on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. The UK has strong involvement with both the science investigation and the instruments. In addition to Carl there are scientists such as a Michele Dougherty at Imperial and John Zarnecki at the Open Uni. The instruments on board include a camera system, magnetometer, dust analyser, radar and various spectrometers. Full details here.

Astrophysics is a brilliant science. However, it’s a bit different to other sciences in that we have to observe the evidence available. We can’t just build a star of planet and wait to see what happens. We have to use telescopes and spacecraft to find answers. Cassini is helping us to use Saturn, its rings and moons as a laboratory to discover more about how planets are formed as it’s essentially a miniature solar system.

There are many other benefits gained along the way from the money spent on the mission. This includes technological advances due to miniaturisation of instruments like camera systems (Cassini’s cameras are 1 Megapixel – much smaller than any current mobile phone camera – but at launch, the technology was the best available) and inspiration of school pupils using the science of Cassini. Since the mission began, school pupils across the world have been able to participate in the Cassini Scientist for a Day competition to take control of the spacecraft by making a scientific argument for which target should have its picture taken. This process mirrors that used by the scientists to plan what Cassini will do in its time around Saturn and the schedule of observations is set out months in advance.

I regularly speak in schools to both primary and secondary pupils and teachers and whenever I get the chance I always show them this image taken by Cassini:

 

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

In fact, it is a mosaic but there is an interloper: Earth. This is one of only 3 images taken of the Earth by a spacecraft from elsewhere in our Solar System – do you know what the other two are? We can see in this next image that we have focussed on the picture containing Earth and in the corner we have zoomed in further. The smudge on the top left hand side next to the blob that is Earth, is the Moon.

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

This is my favourite space image as it gives me a great sense of scale in the universe and shows how small we are and how much there is left for us to explore. I can’t wait!

The Cassini mission is due to complete in 2017. The most likely fate of the spacecraft is going to be a controlled plunge into the atmosphere of the planet but I know that before then there is still a great amount to be learned from this fantastic spacecraft.

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It is rocket science! https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/it-is-rocket-science/ Fri, 11 Apr 2014 09:34:49 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=535 On the 3rd April I was down in London at the British Interplanetary Society taking part in the “It is rocket science” careers event organised by the CDI and Heather from Venture Thinking. There was some great discussion and really interesting talks from various people. Programme is here, for full details. Some discussion took place on twitter and you can get a sense of the day from the Storify below. ]]> Dispatches from York https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/dispatches-york/ Thu, 04 Jul 2013 09:24:11 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=496 I’ve had a wonderful two days in York at the National Science Learning Centre at the ESERO conference, there was so much enthusiasm and discussion from all the speakers and delegates! It was great being able to present my Defying Gravity talk to the group.

I’m here for a third day at the National ASE Technicians Conference. Again, the place is buzzing. I’m speaking this afternoon, looking at the programme they have a packed day ahead.

If you don’t know about the National Science Learning Centre, I’d recommend you spend some time finding out about them. They host continuing professional development across STEM and, of course, host various conferences. They also have a library of STEM resources and it is a place you can visit to view their collection (I’m sitting in the library at the moment surrounded by massive globes, models of fat and shelves and shelves of books with great ideas and resources for teaching). However, not everyone can get to York – especially during a busy term – so they have an eLibrary of resources. The items are diverse, from worksheets and lesson plans to films and sound clips. You can search by age group, type or subject and you will regularly find PDF versions of textbooks available as well. All freely available (you just need to register to use the site) to use. Enjoy!

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Build your own desktop catapult https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/build-desktop-catapult/ Thu, 09 May 2013 19:19:25 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=488 I have finally completed my catapult building instructions. Using the instructions you will be able to build a desktop catapult with a range of 50cm to a couple of metres (dependant on how long/strong certain aspects are when you build it) within about 30 minutes. Once you have the basics down you can go onto make modifications of your own.

The targets are all in relation to getting into orbit. You need the right speed and momentum to achieve different destinations. You can simulate this with your catapult (remember that rockets are projectiles!). Red means that you’re not travelling fast enough to overcome Earth’s gravity at the surface and you are crashing back down through the atmosphere. Black means that you’re travelling too quickly and have overcome Earth’s gravity and so go off to Mars. Finally, the white area indicates the orbit of the International Space Station. To get to this destination you need the correct speed and momentum.

Please note that you are responsible for the health and safety aspects in relation to these instructions and only lightweight items should be fired using the catapult!!

Have fun and let me know how you get on building!

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Computer Science and Space https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/cs-space/ https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/cs-space/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:36:57 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=417 Here is the third in my series of careers guides for working in space. This time I’m looking at the subject of Computer Science. It is something that is very creative and can be used in many different fields.

This is intended as a brief introduction to options for GCSE/Standard Grade and A-level/Higher students.

PDF is available here: Get into space with computer science.

Text version is available here: Get into space with computer science.

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Balloon Rocket https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/balloon-rocket/ https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/balloon-rocket/#respond Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:28:20 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=408 I have adapted one of my bigger demos – the hi-striker – so that it shows the difference that mass can have when you try to act against gravity. I wanted to see what it looked like, so have taken a short film which you can watch below. I’m a bit nervous at the start because I was trying to pop the first balloon (there were sparkly things inside!) and I don’t like loud noises, but it didn’t quite work. I would say I’ve fixed it now :-) Although from this evidence I’d be no use as an Astronaut as the loud bang from the rocket would scare…

 

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Engineering and Space https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/engineering-space/ https://www.lfthomas.co.uk/engineering-space/#respond Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:04:10 +0000 http://www.lfthomas.co.uk/?p=389 In the next of the short career guides I have produced, I have tackled the enormous topic of engineering. There are far too many options to some up perfectly in a short guide like this, but hopefully it gives a flavour of what can be studied and worked on and also points to other sources of information for students.

A reminder: these are intended to be brief introductions for GCSE/Standard grade and A-level/Higher students.

PDF is available here: Get into space with engineering

Text version is available here: Get into space with engineering.

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