Deep Space Atomic Clock Archives

June 21, 2019June 21, 2019 by Evan Gough

Deep Space Atomic Clocks Will Help Spacecraft Answer, with Incredible Precision, if They’re There Yet

The Deep Space Atomic Clock, a new technology from NASA's JPL, may change the way spacecraft navigate in space. Launching in late June aboard the Orbital Test Bed satellite, on the SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, descendants of the technology demonstration could be a key component of a self-driving spacecraft and a GPS-like navigation system at other worlds.Credit: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems

How do spacecraft know where they are? There’s no GPS out there. Right now, it involves sending a signal to the spacecraft which the spacecraft then sends right back to Earth. The elapsed time reveals the distance.

But on June 24th, that method could be replaced by something much more autonomous.