Slashdot: NASA is Sending an Atomic Clock Into Deep Space
NASA is Sending an Atomic Clock Into Deep Space
Published on June 11, 2019 at 01:00AM
An anonymous reader shares a report: On Saturday, June 22, SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon Heavy Rocket out of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The reusable craft is coming off two successful flights; its maiden launch in early 2018 and a satellite delivery trip in April 2019. For its third adventure, the Falcon Heavy will ferry a trove of precious cargo up into space. Around two dozen satellites are going along for the ride this time. But the rocket's most interesting passenger has to be the Orbital Test Bed satellite. Its main payload is an experimental, toaster-sized gizmo called the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC). If the thing works properly, future missions to Mars, Jupiter and beyond could become a whole lot easier -- and less expensive. Atomic clocks are time-keeping devices that work by keeping subatomic particles resonating at a desired frequency. Using this process, the clocks can tell time with incredible accuracy. It's a level of precision that makes our GPS technology possible. Built-in atomic clocks help GPS satellites determine the distance between themselves and your smartphone. With that info, they can pinpoint your whereabouts. Similarly, NASA uses atomic clocks to guide man-made vessels through deep space -- which is defined as any celestial point that's "at or beyond" the moon's orbit.
Published on June 11, 2019 at 01:00AM
An anonymous reader shares a report: On Saturday, June 22, SpaceX plans to launch its Falcon Heavy Rocket out of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The reusable craft is coming off two successful flights; its maiden launch in early 2018 and a satellite delivery trip in April 2019. For its third adventure, the Falcon Heavy will ferry a trove of precious cargo up into space. Around two dozen satellites are going along for the ride this time. But the rocket's most interesting passenger has to be the Orbital Test Bed satellite. Its main payload is an experimental, toaster-sized gizmo called the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC). If the thing works properly, future missions to Mars, Jupiter and beyond could become a whole lot easier -- and less expensive. Atomic clocks are time-keeping devices that work by keeping subatomic particles resonating at a desired frequency. Using this process, the clocks can tell time with incredible accuracy. It's a level of precision that makes our GPS technology possible. Built-in atomic clocks help GPS satellites determine the distance between themselves and your smartphone. With that info, they can pinpoint your whereabouts. Similarly, NASA uses atomic clocks to guide man-made vessels through deep space -- which is defined as any celestial point that's "at or beyond" the moon's orbit.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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