Американские малые КА

[Старый]

Stalky пишет:
Как это понимать? Этим уровням управления в принципе недоступны данные систем/средств космической видовой разведки или недоступно что-то иное? Что именно недоступно - уточните, пож-ста.

Понимать это так что у спутниковой видовой разведки в интересах этих организаций НННШ. 
Почему? Потому что неэффективна. Дорога и неэффективна. Теоретически доступна но практически неэффективна. Поэтому никто и не будет тратить на неё силы и средства, тем более в военное время и в боевой обстановке.  Создание и использования дорогого но неэффективного вооружения ведёт к поражению в войне (это, кстати, одна из целей умышленной дезинформации в данной области).

[Ded]

Stalky пишет:

Ded пишет:

Stalky пишет:

Старый пишет:

Stalky пишет:
А что Вы подразумеваете под "полевыми войсками"?

То что определили вы: армейское звено и ниже. Впрочем могу даже поднять планку до уровня командующего фронтом.

Как это понимать? Этим уровням управления в принципе недоступны данные систем/средств космической видовой разведки или недоступно что-то иное? Что именно недоступно - уточните, пож-ста.

Дело в не недоступности данных, а в их актуальности. Что толку знать информацию, которая уже устарела?

Определимся в дефинициях? Разделим "данные" и "информацию". Договоримся понимать под "информацией" те сведения и в той форме, что не просто увеличивает ваши абстрактные знания о чём-то, а, это важно, объективно помогает вам принять верное решение в рамках конкретно решаемой вами задачи, а под "данными" всё остальное...

Вы в принципе исключаете возможность получения командующим фронтом/армией любых сведений от КС видовой разведки, которые позволят ему выдать эффективное(по наступившим последствиям) решение на действия своих войск/сил и применение оружия?

Если честно - то первая часть Вашего поста для меня осталась непонятной.

Что касается второй - то сразу скажу, что не исключаю. Но я писал об актуальности.
Пример:
- командир мотострелкового взвода получил фотографию получасовой дальности, на которой впереди пять танков. Его решение?

Я говорю о том, что при решении оперативных задач (о тактических и речи нет) спутники - очень малая (если вообще существующая) помощь.

Что касается фронта и армии, то необходимо смотреть на соотношение длины фронта и глубины обороны к ширине полосы захвата КА. Это определяет время на получение полной информации, при этом первая фотография с большой вероятностью станет"липой".

[Старый]

Ded пишет:
Что касается фронта и армии, то необходимо смотреть на соотношение длины фронта и глубины обороны к ширине полосы захвата КА. Это определяет время на получение полной информации, при этом первая фотография с большой вероятностью станет"липой".

И в целом руководство уровня фронта/армии и даже дивизии интересует оперативная обстановка в целом и совершенно не интересует конкретное расположение конкретных объектов на местности. Так что спутникам пришлось бы в реалтайме отслеживать перемещения войск по всей оперативной зоне а системе обработки обобщать её и доводить до командования.

[Stalky]

Старый пишет:

Stalky пишет:
Как это понимать? Этим уровням управления в принципе недоступны данные систем/средств космической видовой разведки или недоступно что-то иное? Что именно недоступно - уточните, пож-ста.

Понимать это так что у спутниковой видовой разведки в интересах этих организаций НННШ.
Почему? Потому что неэффективна. Дорога и неэффективна. Теоретически доступна но практически неэффективна. Поэтому никто и не будет тратить на неё силы и средства, тем более в военное время и в боевой обстановке. Создание и использования дорогого но неэффективного вооружения ведёт к поражению в войне (это, кстати, одна из целей умышленной дезинформации в данной области).

Что значит неэффективна и дорога, если она уже существует. Если КН-12 пролетая над районом интересующим командование фронта/армии сделал некий снимок и слил в реалтайм этот снимок через TDRS в NRO, оттуда его также быстро перелили непосредственно в разведорган фронта/армии и там дежурный дешифровщик обнаружил нечто, что напоминает разгрузку эшелона с батареей мобильных ПУ ОТР противника -  он, что по Вашему должен сделать - продолжить жевать гамбургер с мыслью: да, ладно, так не бывает...или все же доложить по команде вышестоящим офицерам штаба фронта? Как Вы думаете сколько времени займёт принятие решения на поражение столь важной цели и отдача соответствующего распоряжения вкупе с целеуказанием? Не думаю, что эшелон успеет разгрузиться. Да, рассчитывать на это как на полностью  управляемый вами источник нельзя, но пользоваться то можно.

Пояснения для Деда - снимок, пока он гуляет по сетям связи и собственно сам снимок - для штаба это данные, когда он попал в руки дешифровщика, то для него он стал информацией, а для штаба в целом так и остался данными, а вот когда дешифровщик принёс наверх своё донесение с описанием типа цели, её координат и временной привязкой, то это для штаба и стало информацией. А сам снимок им не нужен - им нужен список целей с координатной и временной привязкой соответствующей стрельбовой точности и оперативности их оружия.

[Stalky]

Старый пишет:

Ded пишет:
Что касается фронта и армии, то необходимо смотреть на соотношение длины фронта и глубины обороны к ширине полосы захвата КА. Это определяет время на получение полной информации, при этом первая фотография с большой вероятностью станет"липой".

И в целом руководство уровня фронта/армии и даже дивизии интересует оперативная обстановка в целом и совершенно не интересует конкретное расположение конкретных объектов на местности. Так что спутникам пришлось бы в реалтайме отслеживать перемещения войск по всей оперативной зоне а системе обработки обобщать её и доводить до командования.

Да, так и есть. Но бывают и исключения - в виде,например, командных пунктов противника или,например, ПУ ОТР, на которых возможно установлены спецБЧ. Тогда доклад разведоргана наверх следует не в целом по обстановке, а по конкретной цели. И следует немедленно.

[Stalky]

Ded пишет:

Stalky пишет:

Ded пишет:

Stalky пишет:

Старый пишет:

Stalky пишет:
А что Вы подразумеваете под "полевыми войсками"?

То что определили вы: армейское звено и ниже. Впрочем могу даже поднять планку до уровня командующего фронтом.

Как это понимать? Этим уровням управления в принципе недоступны данные систем/средств космической видовой разведки или недоступно что-то иное? Что именно недоступно - уточните, пож-ста.

Дело в не недоступности данных, а в их актуальности. Что толку знать информацию, которая уже устарела?

Определимся в дефинициях? Разделим "данные" и "информацию". Договоримся понимать под "информацией" те сведения и в той форме, что не просто увеличивает ваши абстрактные знания о чём-то, а, это важно, объективно помогает вам принять верное решение в рамках конкретно решаемой вами задачи, а под "данными" всё остальное...

Вы в принципе исключаете возможность получения командующим фронтом/армией любых сведений от КС видовой разведки, которые позволят ему выдать эффективное(по наступившим последствиям) решение на действия своих войск/сил и применение оружия?

- командир мотострелкового взвода получил фотографию получасовой дальности, на которой впереди пять танков. Его решение?

Командиру взвода ваша фотография на хрен не упала. Он(будем считать, что он служит в продвинутой армии) получает на свой тактический терминал сообщение, что в таком-то районе, тогда-то возможно находилось танковое подразделение противника, с предполагаемым азимутом движения таким-то. Возможно он не получит более ничего, возможно он получит приказ уточнить обстановку собственными силами и отправит рядового Бельдыева в разведку, а возможно запустит взводный беспилотник, а возможно...вариантов море. Ясно одно - фото со спутника ему точно не нужно.А вот информация нужна.

[Старый]

Stalky пишет:
Что значит неэффективна и дорога, если она уже существует. 

"Неэффективна и дорога" значит неэффективна и дорога. 
И не существует.

Если КН-12 пролетая над районом интересующим командование фронта/армии сделал некий снимок и слил в реалтайм этот снимок через TDRS в NRO, оттуда его также быстро перелили непосредственно в разведорган фронта/армии и там дежурный дешифровщик обнаружил нечто, что напоминает разгрузку эшелона с батареей мобильных ПУ ОТР противника

 Нет. Дежурный дешифровльщик обнаружил что нифига на станции не разгружается. Впустую расходовал моторесурс КН-12, ТДРС, канал связи с разведотделом армии и сам дешифровщик. Вот это и называется "дорого и неэффективно". 
 Да и станцию КН-12 не фотографировал потому что он в это время фотографировал переправу у реки в 10 км в стороне чтоб поглядеть не переправляется ли колонна мобильных ПУ ОТР там. Там их впрочем тоже не оказалось.
 Понимаете? Чтобы обнаружить ПУ ОТР надо точно знать где они чтобы посмотреть именно в это место. А если вы и так знаете где они то нахрена вам спутник?

Да, рассчитывать на это как на полностью  управляемый вами источник нельзя, но пользоваться то можно.

 Вот это и называется "дорого и неэффективно" - рассчитывать что противник сам подставится под случайный снимок.Впрочем противник подставится. Ко времени пролёта спутника поставит на разгрузочной площадке несколько БТРов с бревном под маскировочной сетью и толпой бегающих вокруг солдат для оживляжа. За время пока вы среагируете солдатики спрячутся, БТРы спишут, отдел противодействия техническим средствам разведки нарисует себе жирный плюс а настоящие ОТР могут ездить спокойно - их больше никто не будет искать.  Тото будет сюрприз когда они найдутся сами!  

 Вы находитесь в плену представлений прошлой войны, когда исход боя можно было решить удачно накрыв эшелон. В наше время исход сражения решается подавлением ПВО. После чего авиация господоствует в воздухе и методично выбивает локальную ПВО, эшелоны, ОТР, танки, прочие боевые машины, просто автомобили, всё остальное. После чего война переходит в фазу контрпартизанской операции против заныкавшихся в лесах отдельных бойцов с автоматами. 

[Stalky]

Старый пишет.

 Нет. Дежурный дешифровльщик обнаружил что нифига на станции не разгружается. Впустую расходовал моторесурс КН-12, ТДРС, канал связи с разведотделом армии и сам дешифровщик. Вот это и называется "дорого и неэффективно".
 Да и станцию КН-12 не фотографировал потому что он в это время фотографировал переправу у реки в 10 км в стороне чтоб поглядеть не переправляется ли колонна мобильных ПУ ОТР там. Там их впрочем тоже не оказалось.
 Понимаете? Чтобы обнаружить ПУ ОТР надо точно знать где они чтобы посмотреть именно в это место. А если вы и так знаете где они то нахрена вам спутник?

Да, рассчитывать на это как на полностью управляемый вами источник нельзя, но пользоваться то можно.

Вот это и называется "дорого и неэффективно" - рассчитывать что противник сам подставится под случайный снимок.Впрочем противник подставится. Ко времени пролёта спутника поставит на разгрузочной площадке несколько БТРов с бревном под маскировочной сетью и толпой бегающих вокруг солдат для оживляжа. За время пока вы среагируете солдатики спрячутся, БТРы спишут, отдел противодействия техническим средствам разведки нарисует себе жирный плюс а настоящие ОТР могут ездить спокойно - их больше никто не будет искать. Тото будет сюрприз когда они найдутся сами!    

 Вы находитесь в плену представлений прошлой войны, когда исход боя можно было решить удачно накрыв эшелон. В наше время исход сражения решается подавлением ПВО. После чего авиация господоствует в воздухе и методично выбивает локальную ПВО, эшелоны, ОТР, танки, прочие боевые машины, просто автомобили, всё остальное. После чего война переходит в фазу контрпартизанской операции против заныкавшихся в лесах отдельных бойцов с автоматами.

Cтарый, Вы пройдитесь по предыдущим постам. Обнаружиться, что Вы начали использовать те аргументы, которые раньше использовал я, и наоборот...это к замечанию про возможную бесконечность нашего "спора" при бессистемном фрагментарном* обсуждении картины- на самом деле его и нет, судя по форуму, мы имеем примерно одинаковые  мнения по этому вопросу, но в ряде случаев Ваше более категорично.

* - Одна система ничего не решит, одновременно работает множество систем и десятки...сотни средств разведки, связи, боевого управления...и оружия.Ну, и само собой войска/силы....

И немного о терминах. Фронт/Армия не ведут "бои", у них - "сражения" в форме фронтовых или армейских операций различного толка...а это не одно и то же, что "бои", которые ведут тактические единицы. Бой и сейчас можно выиграть разбомбив эшелон, а сражения и раньше не выигрывались в результате только лишь разбомбления этого же эшелона.

Все же или нужно завязывать или оговорить какие-то более внятные показатели и критерии для оценки целесообразности применения КС, чем эмоциональное перепихивание друг другу одних и тех же частных примеров.

[Старый]

Stalky пишет:
И немного о терминах. Фронт/Армия не ведут "бои", у них - "сражения" в форме фронтовых или армейских операций различного толка...а это не одно и то же, что "бои", которые ведут тактические единицы. Бой и сейчас можно выиграть разбомбив эшелон, а сражения и раньше не выигрывались в результате только лишь разбомбления этого же эшелона.

Вот поэтому фронту и армии информация детальной видовой разведки и ни к чему. 

Да, надо определиться о чём мы говорим. О ВМВ перенесённой в современные условия или о современной войне? 

[Salo]

http://www.spacenews.com/article/report-readied-on-options-for-%E2%80%98tacsat-4-like%E2%80%99-small-satellites#.ULP0rGfvqBg

Report Readied on Options for 'TacSat-4-like' Small Satellites
Nov. 21, 2012


TacSat-4, which weighs 450 kilograms, has "demonstrated a low, [highly elliptical orbit] small satellite can provide military utility," said Bill Raynor, Navy TacSat-4 program manager. Credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory photo

WASHINGTON — Future options for "TacSat-4-like" small satellites will be outlined in a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) report scheduled to be finalized in mid-December, according to a program official.

DoD already has launched four Tactical Microsatellites (TacSats) to test new space capabilities. The most recent, the TacSat-4 UHF communications satellite, lifted off in September 2011.

The upcoming report, which the Naval Research Laboratory is preparing for DoD's Operationally Responsive Space Office, will assess the future utility of such systems, said Navy TacSat-4 program manager Bill Raynor, who spoke Nov. 9 at a small-satellite conference in Washington. Raynor hinted at one possible conclusion: Any future spacecraft would be designed differently than TacSat-4.

"If you were to fly a TacSat-like mission, I dare say that it would not look like TacSat-4," he said. "To start, we'd probably have two smaller antennas rather than one large, 12-foot [3.6-meter] dish. It helps considerably with packaging, making it much easier to launch multiple satellites on a single launch."

During its time on orbit, TacSat-4 has participated in U.S. and Canadian sea exercises and helped the U.S. Coast Guard communicate with an icebreaker supporting a wintertime natural gas delivery to remote Nome, Alaska, Raynor said. In addition, the TacSat-4 program provided a portable ground terminal to a Coast Guard station in Kodiak, Alaska, to help the maritime service communicate in and around Alaska.

TacSat-4, which weighs 450 kilograms, has "demonstrated that a low, [highly elliptical orbit] small satellite can provide military utility," he said.

Controlled fr om the Army's Blossom Point Research Facility in southern Maryland, the satellite is on track to meet or exceed its three-year design life requirement, "so we still have two-plus years of life remaining," Raynor told the first International Symposium on Small Satellites for Arctic and Maritime Operations and Research.

Other small sats

Symposium speakers also highlighted the near-term potential for other small satellites to improve such things as environmental monitoring and maritime safety.

For vessel tracking, Fort Lee, N.J.-based Orbcomm, which has two Automatic Identification Service (AIS) satellites on orbit, plans to launch 18 more satellites by 2014, all of which will have AIS receivers. Eight of those will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in mid-2013, said Greg Flessate, Orbcomm vice president for government and maritime.

Ontario, Canada-based exactEarth, which has four AIS satellites on orbit, is preparing to deploy four more by 2014, said Chandler Smith, vice president of Com Dev USA, exactEarth's U.S. distributor.

For both companies, having more satellites on orbit is expected to yield better coverage.

PolarCube, which weighs about 4 kilograms, is being built by students at the University of Colorado in Boulder to study the Arctic's atmosphere and rapidly melting ice. The prototype spacecraft is expected to launch on a NASA rocket in late 2013 or early 2014 and have a design life of about a year, said geoscientist David Gallaher, technical services manager at the university's National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Gallaher hopes to eventually field a fleet of such spacecraft to provide real-time monitoring of the region, wh ere harsh weather and limited ground-based infrastructure can inhibit nonspace platforms.

SpaceQuest Ltd. of Fairfax, Va., is exploring the possibility of fielding small satellites to identify pollution sources in the Arctic. The region's sea-ice decline has opened the door to expanded shipping and oil and gas exploration, increasing the potential for harmful emissions into the air and sea, said Dino Lorenzini, the company's president.

The Arctic has vast amounts of untapped natural resources: 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 percent of the undiscovered gas, and $2 trillion worth of gold, nickel, zinc and other minerals, said John Oliver, Coast Guard senior ocean policy adviser.

Martin Kress, executive director of the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation in Huntsville, Ala., said he hopes to launch a 180-kilogram Arctic Region Communications Small Satellite, or ARC-Sat, to improve communications, search and rescue, data extraction and ship identification in the Arctic. The spacecraft would consist of a mothership and four cubesats flying in formation. The mothership is the size of a dishwasher and each cubesat is the size of a loaf of bread.

The polar region could also soon get a boost from the DoD-funded Arctic Collaborative Environment program, which integrates Arctic-focused remote sensing data into a Web-based tool. The program plans to conduct an operational demonstration in February, said Kress, whose center is part of the team.

[ZOOR]

Ошибка вышла

Не там запостил. Может, хоть последнее сообщение можно удалять будет, как на старом форуме?

[Sharicoff]

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2535

SENSE vehicles will validate nanosatellite use in military space

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http://www.parabolicarc.com/2010/08/12/nasa-announces-cubesat-opportunity/cubesat/

NASA Announces Fourth Round of CubeSat Space Mission Candidates
Posted by Doug Messier
on February 28, 2013, at 4:32 pm



WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has sel ected 24 small satellites to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, a Florida high school, several non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

CubeSats belong to a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites measure about 4 inches on each side, have a volume of about 1 quart, and weigh less than 3 pounds.

The selections are fr om the fourth round of the CubeSat Launch Initiative. After launch, the satellites will conduct technology demonstrations, educational research or science missions. The selected CubeSats will be eligible for flight after final negotiations and an opportunity for flight becomes available.

The following organizations submitted winning satellite proposals:

    The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
    The Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport, Conn.
    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz.
    Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky., in partnership with the University of California at Berkeley
    Montana State University, Bozeman (2 CubeSats) in partnership with The University of New Hampshire, Durham
    Merritt Island High School, Florida, in partnership with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
    NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
    NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. (3 CubeSats)
    NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (3 CubeSats)
    NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida
    Pennsylvania State University, in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, Calif., and the Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.
    Saint Louis University, St. Louis
    Tyvak Nano-Satellites Systems, Irvine, Calif., in partnership with the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
    University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
    University of Colorado, Boulder
    University of Florida, Gainesville, in partnership with Stanford University
    University of Maryland, Baltimore County
    University of Texas, Austin
    Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., in partnership with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, Silver Spring, Md.

In the three previous rounds of the CubeSat initiative, NASA has selected 63 missions for flight. The agency's Launch Services Program Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) Program has launched 12 CubeSat missions. This year, 22 CubeSat missions are scheduled for flight.

For additional information on NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative program, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/nXOuPI

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http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_04_01_2013_p60-560508.xml&p=2

International Space Groundswell Draws New Entries

April 01, 2013
Frank Morring, Jr. Washington
...
Moving deeper into Earth orbit, with another nascent commercial-space app, is PLANETiQ, which is fund-raising to field a constellation of small commercial weather satellites that it hopes can attract some of the $6 billion the world's weather services spend collecting data for their forecasts each year.

"We represent a new model of public/private collaboration, in developing a network of small satellites for sustained and cost-effective rapid delivery of atmospheric data," says Anne Miglarese, the PLANETiQ president and CEO.

The concept involves 12 satellites weighing 75 kg (165 lb.) each, spaced around the globe. Using a technique called GPS Radio Occultation, which extracts temperature, pressure and humidity profiles from measurements of how much the atmosphere bends GPS signals as they pass through it, the company plans to market the data as a low-cost alternative to sounders and other weather-satellite instruments, with the fast-turnaround data delivery—3 min. after observation—particularly advantageous in tracking hurricanes as they approach landfall.

"I would argue that atmospheric data is moving in the same direction that brought us the plethora of imaging, both commercial and government, with the failure of the [National Reconnaissance Office's Future Imaging Architecture]," says Miglarese. "It was that burning platform that opened up the commercial opportunities for [Digital Globe] and GeoEye, and allowed them to thrive. We have a very similar situation with weather . . . with the serious delays and overruns that have occurred at NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]; the same with the [Defense Meteorological Satellite Program] at the Air Force."

The Bethesda, Md.-based company is o't alone in hoping to build a commercial market for satellite weather data. GeoMetWatch Corp. already has started building a hyperspectral imager for weather applications that it hopes to fly as a hosted payload, and is on the verge of announcing an Asian-regional satellite as its host (AW&ST Feb. 25, p. 18 )  . Both companies are aiming to lower the cost of weather observation from orbit.

The first 12 PLANETiQ satellites will cost an estimated $155 million, including launch, Miglarese says. The satellites will also carry two instruments for monitoring damaging high-energy particles from solar storms, to help satellite operators protect their expensive birds from space weather.

Launches could begin 28-30 months after the start of manufacturing, Miglarese says, and it will cost at least $40 million for that to happen by the targeted July 1 date. While the needed technology is straightforward, financing is the real hurdle.

"We've been to two of the major finance houses," she says. "Both are very interested. But there are some very inherent risks for them, and those risks aren't about technology [or the] launch. The market clearly understands those risks, and can mitigate for them. The risk is in not having a proven market."

Other new-space startups are going after traditional markets, but in very untraditional ways. Like Columbus sailing off into the sunset to find spices that would fetch a fortune back home in Europe, some experienced space entrepreneurs are talking seriously about mining asteroids and the Moon for precious metals and water. The water can be broken down into oxygen and hydrogen for the propellant and life support that will be needed to exploit and explore space. The metals are precious for good reason.

"You will be hard-pressed to find a serious piece of microelectronics or structural support inside a human body that does not have a platinum-group element in it," says Eric Anderson, co-founder and co-chairman of Planetary Resources, an asteroid-mining startup.

Planetary Resources does not expect to find financial backing right away to race off to an asteroid and start digging. Instead, it has mapped a careful path of more and more capable spacecraft—starting with cubesat-based telescope prospectors to study potential targets—and it has a stable of dot-com billionaires willing to fund it, says Anderson. He cut his entrepreneurial teeth sending wealthy space tourists to the ISS on Russian Soyuz vehicles.
...

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http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_05_06_2013_p55-574477.xml&p=1

Simplifying Hardware To Liberate Satellite Users
By Michael Mecham
Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology



May 06, 2013
Credit: Pumpkin Inc.

Michael Mecham Moffett Field, Calif.

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Inexpensive satellites little bigger than a Rubik's Cube have been the provenance of university and small research projects for more than a decade. Increasingly, innovations fr om the smartphone world are showing how these classroom projects can play outsized roles in space science.

The April 21 launch of three PhoneSats, built here at NASA Ames Research Center, is giving early promise to what can happen when common commercial products are tapped to drive down the design, development and integration costs of making spacecraft. The innovations include cannabilizing consumer products, scrounging for leftovers and using parts fr om online satellite catalogs.

David Korsmeyer, head of Ames's engineering directorate, says technology and manufacturing processes for very small satellites is maturing to the point wh ere they can become disruptive technologies for Earth observation, communications and deep-space exploration.

Interest in small satellite missions extends far beyond Ames. Innovation Foundry Manager Anthony Freeman at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the most successful smallsat design, the 10 X 10 X 10-cm (roughly 4 X 4 X 4-in.) cubesat—the standard "1U" size—pioneered at the turn of the century, have come a long way. "For a long time, we've been in an elongated Sputnik era with peepers and squeakers, wh ere just getting into Earth orbit and getting a signal was counted a success. We're now at the Explorer 1 level," says Freeman, referring to the 1958 U.S. mission a year after Sputnik that detected the Van Allen radiation belt. "After that, things really took off."

Freeman emphasizes the dollars-and-cents rationale for using very small spacecraft for exploration. "If the discussion is at the $500 million [mission cost] level, that means a lot of asteroids we won't fly by," he says. "But if it is $2 million, then we can."

The Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks (EDSN), a cluster of eight 1.5U cubesats (10 X 10 X 15 cm) is set for launch from Kauai, Hawaii, in October. They will have overlapping orbits spread over 50-60 mi. and know each other's position with high precision so their measurements can be integrated with time and position stamps. "For [scientists], there are lots of measurements that benefit from being taken just minutes apart," says the chief technologist in Ames's mission design division, Elwood Agasid. EDSN will measure ocean temperatures and wave heights. "How fast can a storm grow?" he asks. Knowing the answer may prove useful in tsunami warnings, particularly in detecting killer waves from remote regions of the Pacific Ocean.

Three other EDSN-class technology missions are planned in the next three years. They will use cubesats no larger than 3U (10 X 10 X 30 cm) to verify: laser communications, low-cost radar and optical sensors to help smallsats maneuver near each other; higher-bandwidth radios that communicate with reflector antennas on the back of their solar arrays; and cubesat rendezvous and mechanical docking exercises.

The PhoneSats are similar to the Spheres free-flyer experiment already conducted in the International Space Station's Destiny lab, except the PhoneSats were deposited into orbit on the inaugural Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares launch. They will last only a few weeks in space because their orbit was 240 X 260 km (150 X 160 mi.). But in small packet bursts, they have communicated through a worldwide Ham Radio network and transmitted Earth images using smartphone technology, says Project Manager Jim Cockrell. Two PhoneSat 1s, which cost just $3,500 each, relied on Android HTC Nexus One smartphones and one $8,000 PhoneSat 2 used the more advanced Samsung Nexus S model.

The PhoneSat 1 used the phone's accelerometer and magnetometer but left its lithium-ion batteries at home because they are not suitable for the thermal shifts of working in space. Instead, the phones were snuggled diagonally into the cubesat surrounded by nickel-cadmium batteries that will barely last the length of the mission.

Although it is only a beta test model, PhoneSat 2 has greater capabilities. The Nexus uses gyroscopes so users can flip screens vertically or horizontally. Combined with a set of magna torque wheels little bigger than a man's thumb, they gave PhoneSat 2 three-axis stability, which the simpler PhoneSat 1 lacks. The Ames team simplified making mounts for the wheels with 3-D printing.

Solar cells for PhoneSat 2 came from edges discarded in Boeing Spectrolab's manufacturing process. Ames connected 20 of them on each side of the 10-cm cubesat and on the flip side built copper wire magna torque coils directly onto their PC board to save weight and space.

The point, says Korsmeyer, is to drive tailored original equipment manufacturing out of satellite-making as much as possible by adapting existing hardware. In the future, this will mean that programming the spacecraft is the biggest hurdle. "You have transformed a hardware problem into a software problem," he says.

Because cubesats operate in low Earth orbits (nominally 425-450 km/265-2,800 mi.), they are protected by the planet's magnetic field and do not face major radiation hardening issues. "We buy rad-hard commercial parts rather than space parts," Korsmeyer says, saving millions. He compares having to operate with occasional interference from radiation to having to reboot a PC. "Is that really a problem?" he asks.

Manufacturing for organizations that must tolerate problems or be priced out of existence is part of the smallsat culture, just as managing missions with part-time teams is. But there are payoffs to working in a Class D culture, NASA's minimum qualification standard. Bruce Yost, NASA's small technology mission director, says a "six-pack" of 3U nanosats can be built with only a third of their configuration reserved for spacecraft operations, leaving two-thirds for payload. The normal ratio is just the opposite.

Development work for very small satellites is flowing from companies such as San Francisco's Pumpkin Inc., which has an online catalog for a nanosat starter kit, although founder Andrew Kalman says International Traffic in Arms Regulations prevent fill-the-shopping cart ordering.

Started in 2004, Pumpkin is on its fifth generation of electronics. But its staff of fewer than 10 relies on specialty suppliers, such as San Francisco Bay Area machine shops that hold tolerances to 0.004 in. It used to spend 2 hr. per cell making solar panels but has cut that to just 12 min. by adapting Spectrolab cells. "Our focus has always been on how to crank out [satellites] quickly," Kalman says. He can deliver in as little as 90 days.

Despite the existence of Pumpkin and others like it, customers still need to know what they are doing. They must source their own control software, antennas (EDNS uses hardware-store retractable tape measures) and source cells.

Pumpkin is geared to producing large numbers of the same design, so government agencies such as Ames, JPL and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and prime contractors of the likes of Boeing and Northrop Grumman are its natural customer base. A contract for 12 3U cubesats from the NRO in 2007 provided Pumpkin's big push. Called Colony 1, the order is intended to seed innovation by providing institutional design teams with basic hardware. Users, such as the University of Southern California, take it from there. The NRO's Colony 1 Aeneas mission is an experiment for the Homeland Security Department to track cargo containers over open oceans by interrogating a 1-watt Wi-Fi-like transceiver on the container.

Ames also is using an approach of combining modular units in a Common Bus to simplify satellite manufacturing on a bigger scale. The first application, the $263 million Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (Ladee), is set for launch on a Minotaur V in late August or early September. Other proposals are not yet funded but illustrate the design's flexibility: an asteroid mission and a lunar robotic lander for the Google Lunar X-Prize competition.

While not in the cubesat you-build-it mode, the Common Bus draws on the same philosophy to reduce costs, says Project Manager Butler Hine. Its stackable modules are made lighter and stronger by being comprised of carbon composite formed into a single monocoque octagonal blank with titanium frame inserts that have no ribs. Stress points are reinforced with added plies, and common bolt patterns on top and bottom allow for easy stacking.

Ladee's top two modules carry the instruments—a laser communications experiment, neutral mass spectrometer, ultraviolet/visible spectrometer and lunar dust experiment—and satellite avionics and communications equipment, while the bottom units contain the propulsion system. The body has fixed solar panels, giving it a single safe mode, and its reaction wheels and reaction thrusters are off-the-shelf commercial satellite hardware.

Ames leads NASA's small satellite programs largely because its director, Pete Worden, is an evangelist for their cause. Besides the promise of simplified design and reduced mission costs, his broader vision is that they will become disruptive technologies. The obvious analogy is to the smartphone and Internet. Their ubiquitous presence has created a web of interconnected electronics that beg users to create applications, regardless of whether they understand the hardware behind them. But for such an idea to work in space, satellites need to be cheap enough that a failure would not stop the innovation clock for a decade.

Ames will launch 22 satellites this year, most as cubesats ejected from the space station. Others, weighing in at 20 kg. (44 lb.), are engineering efforts relying on off-the-shelf avionics and costing less than $1 million. "For a few million bucks, you can do really cool stuff in space," Worden says.

But the real revolution will come from what is done on the ground, although how it will be done is not yet clear. "The secret sauce of Silicon Valley is ferment," Worden says. "What I really want to do is have one kid in her garage who says, 'I have an idea and I'm going to write an app.'"

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http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/749904main_may17-2013.pdf

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http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/35980planet-labs-unveils-plan-to-launch-28-nanosats-on-antares-1st-cargo-run#.Uc009tiBXTo

Planet Labs Unveils Plan To Launch 28 Nanosats on Antares' 1st Cargo Run
By Debra Werner | Jun. 26, 2013


Sample image fr om Planet Labs' Dove-1 nanosatellite, which hitched a ride to orbit in April aboard the demo flight of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket. Credit: Planet Labs
 
 SAN FRANCISCO — Planet Labs is seeking to revolutionize the Earth imaging industry with a constellation of 28 nanosatellites designed to offer frequent, low-cost images of any point on the globe. By providing high-resolution imagery, quickly and inexpensively, the company's founders hope to expand dramatically the customer base for Earth imagery and the use of that information to address humanitarian, environmental and business concerns.

Спойлер

"We are motivated to make information about the changing planet available to all people, especially the people who need it the most," said Robbie Schingler, co-founder of the company previously known as Cosmogia Inc. "The imagery could be used by anyone who cares about changes in land use over time."
After fending off media queries for months, executives of the San Francisco-based startup revealed plans June 26 to launch in December a constellation of 28 cubesats designed to provide imagery with a resolution of three to five meters. The constellation, known as Flock-1, is scheduled to fly on the first of eight Orbital Sciences Corp. cargo transportation flights to the international space station as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services program.
In 2012, Planet Labs raised $13 million in venture capital funding for its Earth-imaging constellation fr om investment firms, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Capricorn Investment Group, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, Founders Fund's FF Angel, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective and First Round Capital, company officials said.
Planet Labs founders, Schingler, William Marshall and Chris Boshuizen, are physicists and entrepreneurs who previously worked for NASA. Schingler served as the chief of staff in NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist from June 2010 to October 2011. Marshall and Boshuizen worked in the NASA Ames Research Center's small spacecraft office wh ere they helped to create PhoneSat, a project designed to test whether commercial smartphone components could be used in place of traditional space-qualified hardware.
Unlike PhoneSat, Planet Labs develops its own technology. However, company engineers draw on recent breakthroughs in commercial communications and computing technology. "We are trying to leverage the billions of dollars companies have spent miniaturizing electronics to advance satellite systems," Marshall said.
While much of the hardware Planet Labs plans to fly in its cubesat constellation does not have a lengthy spaceflight heritage, company executives said the constellation gains its resilience from its size. By design, it includes more satellites than necessary to provide global coverage.
The large size of Flock-1 also eliminates the need to task satellite cameras to obtain imagery of specific regions to satisfy customer demand. In the course of routine operations, Planet Labs will collect frequent imagery of latitudes within 52 degrees of the equator, an area that covers the vast majority the world's population and agricultural regions. Company officials declined to specify how frequently they plan to publish updated imagery.
Planet Labs officials are quick to point out that in spite of the large number of spacecraft they plan to launch, they are taking pains to ensure their cubesats do not aggravate the problem of space debris. "We factored this into our design from the first day," said Marshall, who conducted orbital debris research while working at NASA. "Our constellation flies very low and far away from congested areas in space. We have the ability to move to avoid a potential conjunction. And the satellites will disintegrate into the atmosphere in singles of years to avoid becoming space debris."
Flock-1 satellites are scheduled to occupy a 400-kilometer, circular orbit at an inclination of 52 degrees relative to the equator. That location allows onboard cameras to obtain higher resolution imagery and to transmit more data than would be possible if the miniature spacecraft operated in higher orbits, Schingler said.
Planet Labs currently has 33 full-time employees. The staff is comprised primarily of engineers who previously worked at NASA, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Space Systems/Loral, United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., Schingler said.
Planet Labs launched in April its two first satellites, triple cubesats called Dove-1 and Dove-2, on technology demonstrations. Dove-2 launched April 19 on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It rode into orbit as a secondary payload on the Bion-M1 biological experiment satellite. On April 21, Bion-M1 deployed the Dove-2 cubesat.
Also on April 21, Dove-1 traveled on the maiden flight of Orbital Science Corp.'s Antares rocket. Planet Labs contracted for the launch of Dove-1 and Dove-2 with Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. Spaceflight integrated the payloads with Isipod cubesat deployers built by the Dutch firm Innovative Solutions in Space. Spaceflight worked with its partner Innovative Space Logistics BV of Delft, Netherlands, to launch the Dove-2 on a Soyuz rocket, said Spaceflight president and chief executive Jason Andrews.
Dove 1 re-entered Earth's atmosphere after a 6-day mission due to the low orbit of the Antares test flight. In spite of its short duration, company officials were pleased with the technology demonstration, Schingler said. The satellites "obtained beautiful imagery with beautiful resolution straight out of the box," Marshall added.
For example, Dove-1 obtained imagery of a forest in Portland, Ore., that was detailed enough to show the canopy of individual trees. When Planet Labs officials compared it with Google Earth imagery they saw an area wh ere logging had occurred.
Deforestation is one potential application for Planet Labs imagery. Customer interest will determine additional applications. The target audience extends far beyond "large companies and global information system experts" and includes individual Kenyan farmers trying to decide when to water or apply nutrients to their soil, Schingler said.
The image of Earth taken by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972 known as the Blue Marble hangs in a prominent place in Planet Labs' office. The company's founders said the Earth imagery they intend to provide is designed to spur global action just as the Blue Marble image prompted greater global awareness. "By making regular imaging of the planet universally accessible, we will enable people to make better decisions," Marshall said.
In addition to Flock-1, Planet Labs is preparing to launch two additional technology demonstration missions. In September 2012, the company obtained a license from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to operate commercial, remote-sensing satellites Dove-3 and Dove-4. The two satellites, scheduled to launch later this year aboard a Russian-supplied Dnepr rocket, are designed to test technology and demonstration mission concepts.

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http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/07/20/nasa-picks-small-spacecraft-propulsion-systems-for-development/#more-49405

NASA Picks Small Spacecraft Propulsion Systems for Development
Posted by Doug Messier
 
on July 20, 2013, at 4:58 pm in News

A laboratory model MEP thruster. (Credit: NASA)

 HAMPTON, Va. (NASA PR) – NASA sel ected three proposals for the development of lightweight micro-thruster propulsion technologies that are small in size but have big potential.
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate selected the miniaturized electrospray propulsion technologies to perform stabilization, station keeping and pointing for small spacecraft. NASA hopes these technology demonstrations may lead to similar position control systems for larger spacecraft and satellites as well.
NASA's Game Changing Development Program, managed by the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., sponsored this solicitation and will oversee the first phase of this technology development.
The three awards selected for contract negotiations are:
 

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• "Microfluidic Electrospray Propulsion (MEP)," by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
  
• "Miniature ElectroSpray Thrusters Based on Porous Surface Emission," by Busek Company, Inc., Natick, Mass.
  
• "Scalable ion Electrospray Propulsion System (S-iEPS)," by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge
  

Proposals for this solicitation were received fr om NASA centers, federally funded research and development centers, universities and industry. At least one electrospray technology will be selected for further development as an in-space flight demonstration through NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Program during Phase II, which will be made through a separate solicitation.
One of NASA's priorities is to seek and develop new technologies that will radically change the capabilities for small satellites. There currently is a lack of efficient propulsion for a class of low cost, nanosatellite research spacecraft called "Cubesats," which measure about 4 inches on each side and weigh less than 3 pounds. The successful development and demonstration of these miniaturized systems will offer low mass, low-power propulsion for these small spacecraft and potentially revolutionize the future of Cubesats.
Miniaturized electrospray propulsion technologies also signal a revolutionary alternative for position control systems for larger satellites. Several studies have shown that micro-thrusters could replace currently accepted systems on large spacecraft, saving weight and space while significantly increasing mission reliability and lifetimes. This technology also could enable other game changing propulsion capabilities from micro-scale to large, deployable spacecraft structures.
For information about NASA's Game Changing Development Program, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/nwv442x
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/12/07/nasa-launches-exobrake-parachute-international-space-station/

NASA Launches First Exo-Brake Parachute from International Space Station         
Posted by Doug Messier on December 7, 2013, at 9:06 am in News

TechEdSat-3p deploys from the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (NASA PR) — Mission controllers have confirmed that a small satellite launched from the International Space Station has successfully entered its orbit. Soon it will demonstrate two new technologies including an "exo-brake" device to demonstrate a new de-orbit technique as well as a communications system to provide precise information about the spacecraft's position.
The satellite, dubbed "TechEdSat-3p," arrived at the station aboard a Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle Aug. 3. It was released at 2:58 a.m. EST Nov. 20, from the same Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the station that launched its smaller predecessor – TechEdSat – in 2012.
"TechEdSat-3p will be the first nanosatellite of its size – a three unit cubesat – deployed from the International Space Station," said Marcus Murbach, the TechEdSat-3p principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
 

TechEdSat-3p deploys from the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
 
The International Space Station is converging science, technology and human innovation to demonstrate new technologies and make research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. Launching nanosatellites to test technologies necessary for deep space exploration is just one example of how the space station is being used to as a springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.
The primary experiment onboard TechEdSat-3p is called the "exo-brake" and is a specially-designed braking device that operates at extremely low pressures and operates similar to a parachute. The exo-brake on TechEdSat-3p will be the first to perform a rapid de-orbit and re-entry from Earth's outer atmosphere. Engineers believe exo-brakes eventually will enable small samples to be returned from the station or other orbital platforms.
TechEdSat-3p also is equipped with a short-burst data modem provided by Iridium Communications Inc. of McLean, Va. The modem will be combined with a GPS receiver to perform communications functions including providing data about the spacecraft's health and the space environment.
 

TechEdSat-3p in orbit. (Credit: NASA)
 
"TechEdSat-3p uses a completely new nanosatellite communication paradigm in that the Iridium and GPS orbiting spacecraft replace ground stations for tracking, rapid data retrieval and uplink capability," said Murbach. "Eventually, these technologies could be combined to provide another way to return cargo from the space station or other orbiting platforms."
TechEdSat-3p is the second satellite in the TechEdSat series to successfully achieve orbit. The TechEdSat series uses the cubesat standards established by the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, that specifies nanosatellites in one unit (1U) increments of 10 cubic centimeters (approximately four cubic inches). TechEdSat-3p is a 3U satellite and weighs approximately five pounds.
Previously, the TechEdSat-1 – a 1U cubesat – successfully demonstrated the use of basic communications subsystem and a radiation-tolerant controller. It functioned in orbit for seven months until it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. This mission was followed by a successful Iridium system flight test in April during the maiden flight of Orbital Sciences' Antares-1 rocket.
"The satellite's structure, avionics and payload were custom-designed by the team to utilize the 3U volume most efficiently and provide ample space for the exo-brake deorbiter," said Murbach. "The hardware was mostly off-the-shelf components available to anyone – this makes it easier to reproduce and make adjustments for future flights."
For example, the TechEdSat-4 satellite, proposed for launch in 2014, will be very similar to the TechEdSat-3p design. It will develop further the exo-brake passive deorbiting system by adding drag-modulation for accurate de-orbit and eventual re-entry control. Future TechEdSats also will validate hardware for possible nanosatellite missions to the surface of Mars.
"This project uniquely pairs advanced university students with NASA researchers in a rapid design-to-flight experience," said Periklis Papadopoulos, TechEdSat co-investigator at San Jose State University in California. "It also provides a platform to test technologies for future NASA Earth and planetary missions, as well as providing students with an early exposure to flight hardware development and management."
TechEdSat-3p was developed, integrated and tested at Ames by student interns from San Jose State University and the University of Idaho. TechEdSat-3p is funded by Ames. The total cost in parts was less than $50,000 because the team primarily used only commercial off-the-shelf hardware and simplified the design and mission objectives.

For more information about NASA education programs, visit:  http://www.nasa.gov/education
For more about Ames Research Center, visit:  http://www.nasa.gov/ames

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http://www.spacenews.com/article/financial-report/39452ssl-to-build-13-imaging-satellites-for-skybox

SSL To Build 13 Imaging Satellites for Skybox  
By Peter B. de Selding | Feb. 10, 2014

Under the contract, whose financial terms were not disclosed, SSL will build 13 120-kilogram Skybox satellites using a Skybox design for which SSL has been given an exclusive license. Credit: Business Wire photo
 
PARIS — Satellite manufacturer Space Systems/Loral (SSL) will build 13 small high-resolution Earth observation spacecraft for Skybox Imaging under a contract announced Feb. 10.
The deal is a sharp departure for Palo Alto, Calif.-based SSL, whose bread-and-butter products are large, high-power telecommunications satellites for commercial television and data transmission.
Under the contract, whose financial terms were not disclosed, SSL will build 13 120-kilogram Skybox satellites using a Skybox design for which SSL has been given an exclusive license. The spacecraft will be launched in 2015 and 2016, SSL said.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Skybox has one satellite, dubbed SkySat-1, in orbit. Its business plan is to deploy a constellation in low Earth orbit capable of revisiting a given plot of ground three times per day. 
This revisit will be possible once the 13 SSL-built satellites are operational. Skybox has said it ultimately plans a 24-satellite constellation.
Skybox's current satellite has a 90-centimeter resolution in black-and-white mode when the satellite is looking straight down, with an 8-kilometer swath width. Resolution, which refers to the size of objects that can be detected in an image, is 2 meters in color mode. SSL said the satellites it is building will have a resolution, also known as ground sampling distance, sharper than 1 meter even in color mode.
One of Skybox's selling features — the company has been successful in raising capital from private investors in several rounds of financing — has been its promise to offer up to 90 seconds of high-definition video at 30 frames per second.
SSL officials have said that the company's November 2012 purchase by MDA Corp. of Canada would help broaden the scope of SSL's business beyond large commercial telecommunications satellites.
"This contract award ... is tangible evidence of our success in working with MDA to expand into new markets," SSL Chief Executive John Celli said in a statement. "We are developing new capabilities that will enable us to pursue other Earth observation and [low-Earth orbit] satellite opportunities in the U.S. and abroad."
Michael Trela, Skybox vice president for satellite systems, said the launch of SkySat-1 in November, and its successful performance since then, "validated our high-performance imaging satellite design and economics. By partnering with SSL, we can leverage their unique production capabilities to scale with greater cost-efficiency and speed while allowing us to focus on prototyping next-generation systems to better serve our customers."
 
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