Autonomous triangular modules could build tomorrow's mega-observatories

Private companies are getting better at launching more mass into space with larger rockets.

The short version

• But there is still a major constraint on the size of objects we can get into orbit—fairing size.
• This places physical constraints on the overall shape of what we can launch and severely limits the sizes of, say, a communications array or a power satellite.
• But a new paper from researchers at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Beijing Institute of Technology offers a solution—a self-shaping, deployable module that can fine-tune both its positioning and its own dimensions.

What happened

The findings are published in the journal Space: Science & Technology. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies .

Why it matters

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