NASA may use the invention of the 18th century 'sextanti' for spacecraft navigation

by Alyson Hurt

" Sextant " is a tool for measuring altitude and horizontal angle of a celestial body or object, and can measure altitude of a celestial body and determine its own position. The small, portable Sokketsu has been used as a navigation tool at the time of navigation by being placed on a ship sailing on the sea. NASA has declared such a sextant, "It may be used for maneuvering a spacecraft," he said.

Deep space navigation: tool tested as emergency navigation device
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Deep_space_navigation_tool_tested_as_emergency_navigation_device_999.html

Sokkaki has been invented in 1757, a ship sailing on the open ocean where it is not possible to get the signs such as the islands and the continent, has been used to know its own position and heading. The Sextant is equipped with a small optical telescope so that you can measure the exact angle between the stars shining in the sky without a computer.

Although it is Sextant who has helped seafarers sailing over the sea for centuries, in the " Gemini Project " which is the manned space flight plan that the United States conducted from 1961 to 1966, the astronauts who boarded the spacecraft He said he was conducting the experiment of "using Sextant in outer space". It seems that the use of Sextant in the Gemini program was based on the Apollo plan to be held later.

In the Apollo project which succeeded in reaching the first moon surface of the human race, concerns about how to return to the earth when crew members are forced to communicate with the earth can not be avoided was. Therefore, researchers at NASA came up with the idea of ​​using the sextant to determine the position of the spacecraft and use it for navigation to the earth. Astronaut Jim Ravel, who actually boarded Apollo 8 , said he did a demonstration that it is possible to navigate sextantly even in outer space.

by gelle.dk

NASA continues to test the space navigation using the sextant even in the space station " Skylab " which circled the earth from 1973 to 1979, and use the sextant when an emergency occurs in the spacecraft I am seriously considering that. Mr. Greg Holt, who is in charge of the navigation system engineer at NASA, said, "Even in outer space, basic usage of Sextant is the same as how it is used on Earth."

"But the basic usage of Sokoni is trainable even on the earth, but securing a stable view from the spacecraft window in the emergency and measuring the direction in sixth place is difficult on earth," Mr. Holt says, although it is unnecessary to " reinvent the wheel " for a backup for emergency situations, the astronauts always say they need to refine their skills in preparation for emergencies.

NASA is developing a spacecraft for manned missions called Orion as a substitute for the space shuttle and there is a sufficient possibility that sextant is used for emergency navigation of the state-of-the-art spacecraft including Orion. In order to navigate the outer space while suppressing the consumption of electric power as much as possible in order to return safely in the state where communication with the ground is discontinued, it is made up of a few parts like Six and so on, it is possible to determine the direction by a simple operation The tool is very useful. The state-of-the-art spacecraft developed in the 21st century may also be equipped with tools used in the voyage of the 18th century.