XPNAV 1
| XPNAV 1 | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Technology testing satellite |
| Country: |
 People's Republic of China
|
| COSPAR-ID : | 2016-066A |
| Mission dates | |
| Dimensions: | 240 kg |
| Begin: | November 9, 2016 at 11:42 PM UTC |
| Starting place: | Jiuquan |
| Launcher: | Long March 11 |
| Status: | in orbit |
| Orbit data | |
| Track height: | 500 km |
| Orbit inclination : | 97.4 ° |
XPNAV 1 (X-ray Pulsar NAVigation) is a Chinese technology testing satellite .
He was born on November 9, 2016 at 23:42 UTC with a Long March-11 - carrier rocket from the rocket launch site Jiuquan (along with Xiaoxiang-1 and three one-Lishui satellites) placed in a near-earth orbit.
X-ray pulsar navigation is a navigation method in which periodic X-ray signals emitted by pulsars are used to determine the position of a spacecraft in space outside of earth orbit. Current earth-based navigation methods are limited by the time lag between spacecraft and earth. For certain types of pulsars, so-called "millisecond pulsars", however, radiation pulses occur with the regularity and precision of an atomic clock , which in some scenarios requires less time to determine the current position of the spacecraft. Since X-rays are absorbed by the earth's atmosphere, scientists have to test this technology in space. XPNAV 1 will determine the details of X-ray signals from 26 nearby pulsars and build a pulsar navigation database. This goal could be achieved within five to ten years. The data are obtained with the help of two detectors: a microchannel plate array and a focused detector. The array detector determines the X-ray background, while the focused detector system with a collimator system with a diameter of 17 cm is used to characterize X-ray pulsars. The satellite was developed by the Fifth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gunter's Space Page: XPNAV 1 (Maichong Xing Shiyan Weixing) - Gunter's Space Page , accessed on November 13, 2016
- ↑ satview.org: SATVIEW - 2016-066A - Norad 41841U - Tracking satellites and Spacejunk in Real time , accessed on November 13, 2016
- ^ A b Rui C. Barbosa: Second launch for Long March 11 - lofts five satellites. nasaspaceflight.com, November 9, 2016, accessed November 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Jiadong Sun, Jingnan Liu Shiwei supporter, Xiaochun Lu: China Satellite Navigation Conference (CSNC) 2015 Proceedings: . Springer, 2015, ISBN 978-3-662-46632-2 , pp. 525 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Spaceflight101: Chinese Long March 11 launches first Pulsar Navigation Satellite into Orbit - Spaceflight101 , accessed on November 13, 2016