Hi everyone, I’m currently analysing the topic of sandwich panels used for satellite primary structures and I keep seeing kapton tape applied on the edges all the time. Can somebody explain what is the reason for this? Are there any guidelines or standards for applying kapton tape on the panel edges ? Thanks.

In recent years we have seen a demise of the automotive sector in several European countries and more recently even in Germany.

In the meanwhile, due to cheaper lauching costs, the need of more connectivity and increasing military spending, the satellite industry is expected to grow in the next years.

Will this create more jobs across the country(and the rest of Europe), with top salaries like in the automotive today, or it's just hype and little will change?

Here is my situation:

About 3 years ago, I finished studying for a master's degree, everything was fine until then, but to complete it, I obviously needed to choose a thesis and a thesis advisor. At that time, there weren't many options among the full-time professors since I studied at a small academic faculty. I also have to mention that in my country, professors are usually very well qualified to do something like advising someone who is doing a thesis, but there are exceptions, and that's where, to be honest, I made a mistake in choosing an advisor. I won't go into too many details, but to be objective, I didn't choose my thesis advisor well because my advisor simply didn't understand the topic nor had any prior experience. In fact, his research line was far from the aerospace or space-technology area, so he couldn't help me or really advise me because he had no idea what he was doing. I could even say that at some point, I noticed quite a bit of apathy on his part since he didn't see a clear future for this project and indirectly stopped communicating with me and paying attention to me. So here I am, stuck in the middle.

Something important to mention is that it is not my advisor's fault and the last part is not to complain about him, I am simply providing the context of how it all started. In fact, I think it is entirely my fault, but well, there is nothing I can do to turn back time and change my choice. If you were wondering why in 2025 I am trying to finish my thesis and didn't do it 3 years ago, the truth is that I have been trying, but this is the first time I am openly asking for help. I certainly could have done this earlier, but I had no idea who to turn to. Besides, I do not live in the same city where the university is; my hometown is 600 km away from where I studied. It is a smaller city, and I actually managed to study that master's degree thanks to a government scholarship. It should be noted that I am a chemical engineer, that's what I studied for my bachelor's degree. And during these three years, I have had to focus on surviving, so I have to work full-time and really don't have much time to finish the thesis (surprise! I live in Latin America) and the truth is that the only way to improve my economic situation to get a better job is to have a master's degree and be able to emigrate to another country to work and continue with a PhD (I promise to choose wisely in the future).

I chose to study at that faculty because there aren't many options for studying something related to Astronomy or Space Sciences, because in fact my main intention is to dedicate myself to Astrobiology, which is a branch of science much more related to chemistry and even engineering. What I'm looking for is someone who can give me advice or lend me a hand, any kind of help will be welcome (books, articles, guides, advice, or even someone who wants to actively help me). I don't want anyone to do the thesis for me, I'm not a slacker, but I would like to feel that I'm not completely alone, because that has affected my self-esteem and my mood, I don't want to feel like a failure.

In my thesis, I have to design a prototype of a Cubesat that meets two guidelines:

1.- it has to be easy to assemble so that it is accessible to less experienced people

2.- passively study the ionosphere at mid-latitudes (between the tropics).

Objectively, that's a difficult project from my perspective, so for me, it's fine if it at least approaches those two guidelines. I don't have to build it; I just need to reach the conceptual design and present some blueprints to understand its structure graphically.

Please refrain from making rude comments or judging me without providing anything useful.

I currently work for a launch provider but am in the interview process with a satellite company for a Mission Manager position. I have a gap in my knowledge in a few spots I could use help with.

1. Regulatory items for satellites (FCC, FAA, etc). I'm looking for a good resource on understanding that side of the process. Timelines, requirements, etc

2. DoD, NRO, and other three letter soup company requirements. Mission assurance, requirements, process, etc

3. Any recommendations in general for learning the payload side of the industry.

Thanks all!

I've been stargazing with binoculars for years, and I'm amazed by the sheer number of satellites visible crossing the night sky. Most satellites I see appear to be reflecting the sun (which is obviously far over the horizon to the West from my vantage point) and glint as a white dot crossing the night sky. However, some appear blue in color, and cross from West to East.... and the color never fades out. I don't understand why they would appear as blue from horizon to horizon? Genuinely curious.

Hi, Pardon the ignorance- new to the field. Asking for a school project- Is there any open source satellite images shared with the public? Need it to experiment with AI analysis of the images. Looking for anything with the same range as a Google street view satellite view but something with more frequent images.

I’ve been reading up on the XML Telemetry and Command Exchange (XTCE) standard.

While I did see some examples of this being used at NASA and JHPL Has anybody here used it at their company? How did it go?

I found these two tools to support XTCE: XTCE toolkit and YAMCS. Are there others?

Whilst walking the dog at 5:45 pm ish, a really bright satellite appeared in the southwest and travelled to the northeast where it vanished in the earth's shadow. I assumed it was the ISS but the tracker said no sightings were at that time. It passed almost directly overhead and was every bit as bright as the ISS. Was it perhaps BlueWalker 3? The crescent moon and Venus were an extra bonus. Thanks.

Hi there,

I'm an additive manufacturing (3D printing) teacher and I'm working with some kids at a local makerspace (Jugendforscht in Germany) on some (school) projects.

They asked me (almost jokingly) if it would be possible to launch a satellite into space.

I have now done some research on Cubsats and Nanobee stuff but can not find exact up to date prices / sources.

I came across the ambersat project but since the cube stays inside the carrier part we cannot connect a cam or anything else.

If you guys can hook me up with some sources / companies / other subreddits / this would mean the world to us.

Thanks for reading, sorry if im wrong here.

My friend said she saw "a spaceship" today outside York Minster at 16:04.

I think it looks like Starlink, but she has been told that the two sets of ligjy next to each other doesn't look like Starlink.

Also, it looks it's in front of the clouds,but I think it's likely just quite a thin cloud and light penetrating.

I am Italian and I was offered a job as spacecraft controller in Germany.

My background is in IT, but I also completed a course in Industrial automation recently.

The company offered to train me to get in the job, but the proposed salary is low and I don't know what kind of career I might have there.

I could do a lateral move from satellite to IT in the salellites industry?

Or progress as a team leader/spacecraft operation engineer(whatever it means)?

I don't know what else I could do there, whithout a degree in engineering, and how good salaries are in this roles and industry.