. 24/7 Space News .
SPACE TRAVEL
Deep space navigation: tool tested as emergency navigation device
by Melissa Gaskill for ISS News
Houston TX (SPX) Jun 22, 2018

NASA astronaut Alexander Gerst learns how to use a sextant. "I learned how to navigate after the stars using a sextant," said Gerst. "It's actually a test for a backup nav method for #Orion and future deep space missions."

A tool that has helped guide sailors across oceans for centuries is now being tested aboard the International Space Station as a potential emergency navigation tool for guiding future spacecraft across the cosmos. The Sextant Navigation investigation tests use of a hand-held sextant aboard the space station.

Sextants have a small telescope-like optical sight to take precise angle measurements between pairs of stars from land or sea, enabling navigation without computer assistance. Sextants have been used by sailors for centuries, and NASA's Gemini missions conducted the first sextant sightings from a spacecraft.

Designers built a sextant into Apollo vehicles as a navigation backup in the event the crew lost communications from their spacecraft, and Jim Lovell demonstrated on Apollo 8 that sextant navigation could return a space vehicle home. Astronauts conducted additional sextant experiments on Skylab.

"The basic concepts are very similar to how it would be used on Earth," says principal investigator Greg Holt.

"But particular challenges on a spacecraft are the logistics; you need to be able to take a stable sighting through a window. We're asking the crew to evaluate some ideas we have on how to accomplish that and to give us feedback and perhaps new ideas for how to get a stable, clean sight. That's something we just can't test on the ground."

The investigation tests specific techniques, focusing on stability, for possibly using a sextant for emergency navigation on space vehicles such as Orion. With the right techniques, crews can use the tool to navigate their way home based on angles between the moon or planets and stars, even if communications and computers become compromised.

"No need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to celestial navigation," Holt says.

"We want a robust, mechanical back-up with as few parts and as little need for power as possible to get you back home safely. Now that we plan to go farther into space than ever before, crews need the capability to navigate autonomously in the event of lost communication with the ground."

Early explorers put a lot of effort into refining sextants to be compact and relatively easy to use. The tool's operational simplicity and spaceflight heritage make it a good candidate for further investigation as backup navigation.


Related Links
Sextant Navigation investigation tests
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


SPACE TRAVEL
ESA celebrates Unispace+50
Vienna, Austria (ESA) Jun 19, 2018
Next week, ESA will join the international community at UNISPACE+50 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and highlight past and future Agency activities in support of the UN's space-related actions. UNISPACE+50 will run from 18-21 June at the Vienna International Centre, bringing together the international community, and reflecting on the past and future of space activities around the world. It will be a chance ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SPACE TRAVEL
Deep space navigation: tool tested as emergency navigation device

NASA Administrator Statement on Space Policy Directive-3

New head of 'space nation' aims for the stars

Hague, Ovchinin talk ISS mission during presser

SPACE TRAVEL
The rockets that are pushing the boundaries of space travel

Aerojet Rocketdyne and SMC investing in engine technology

Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne to join Spaceflight's portfolio of launch vehicles

Foam and cork insulation protects deep space rocket from fire and ice

SPACE TRAVEL
Opportunity sleeps during a planet-encircling dust storm

Martian Dust Storm Grows Global; Curiosity Captures Photos of Thickening Haze

Explosive volcanoes spawned mysterious Martian rock formation

Unique microbe could thrive on Mars, help future manned missions

SPACE TRAVEL
China confirms reception of data from Gaofen-6 satellite

Experts Explain How China Is Opening International Space Cooperation

Beijing welcomes use of Chinese space station by all UN Nations

China upgrades spacecraft reentry and descent technology

SPACE TRAVEL
Forget Galileo - UK space sector should look to young stars instead

A milestone in securing ESA's future role in the global exploration of space

SSL ships first of 3 ComSats slated for launch this summer

GomSpace and Aerial Maritime Ltd enter MOU for delivery and operation of a global constellation

SPACE TRAVEL
Clearing out space junk, one step at a time

RemoveDEBRIS spacecraft launched from ISS with Airbus space debris capture removal technology

Experiments of the Russian scientists in space lead to a new way of 3D-bioprinting

Futuristic data storage

SPACE TRAVEL
Hunting molecules to find new planets

Will we know life when we see it

Scientists developing guidebook for finding life beyond Earth

Nearly 80 exoplanet candidates identified in record time

SPACE TRAVEL
Webb Telescope to target Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Charon at 40: four decades of discovery on Pluto's largest moon

A dark and stormy Jupiter

NASA shares more Pluto images from New Horizons









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.