Satellites and Orbits

As satellite technology enters a new era, The Aerospace Corporation remains the leading authority on the development, launch and deployment of space systems.
Satellite hero brick
Picture of path of collision of space debris

Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies

CORDS was established in 1997 to focus the corporation’s research and technology applications in the areas of space debris, collision avoidance, and reentry breakup and to provide a single point-of-contact for organizations seeking to take advantage of Aerospace’s more than 50 years of experience in these and related technical areas.
picture of debris floating in space

Space Debris and Space Traffic Management

Decades of space travel have resulted in a large amount of space debris that can be harmful to today’s satellites. Aerospace is addressing the issue of space debris and space traffic management by developing tools for analyzing potential collisions, studying reentry breakups, and modeling debris objects in space.
NASA cube sats image

THE NFL Inspires a Satellite Docking Tool

To teach satellites to interact and dock in space, an Aerospace team found a possible solution on Sunday Night Football.
Brandie Rhodes working on Hyper

Propelling the Field of Small Sats Forward

Aerospace is tackling the challenge of small satellite propulsion with a novel idea for a Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Thruster.
One of the AeroCube-10 cubesats undergoes testing in Aerospace's solar simulator laboratory in El Segundo, Calif. (Credit: The Aerospace Corporation)

Going Into Action With Aerocube-10

The AeroCube-10 dual CubeSat mission is packed with Aerospace-designed space experiments and technology demonstrations, including atmospheric probes, solar cell longevity tests, and a water thruster. One of the AeroCubes contains a wide-angle camera to capture 360-degree images, which when seen back on Earth through a virtual reality headset, will place the viewer in space for an awesome experience.

Coast Guard Launches First Satellites To Aid In Arctic Rescue

A pair of CubeSats, nicknamed Polar Scout, will help locate stranded ships in the growing number of treacherous Arctic shipping lanes.
Overhead view of night lights of London

Revealing Nighttime Images From A CubeSat

The CubeSat Multispectral Observing System (CUMULOS) is equipped with three commercial cameras and could prove to be a game-changer for weather forecasting, environmental monitoring, and other operations involving Earth-surface observation.

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Picture of a deep space landscape