Researchers at ISS are experimenting with a form of navigational system tied to distant stars rather than the position of the Earth. The US space agency used a new device fitted to the outside of the International Space Station (NASA) to conduct a series of experiments in a project called SEXTANT (Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology). The device focused its 52 X-ray telescopes on distant neutron stars called millisecond pulsars to allow it to fix its location. In the tests, it managed to do so to an accuracy of 10 miles in under eight hours.
Researchers at NASA are experimenting with a form of navigational system tied to distant stars rather than the position of the Earth. The US space agency used a new device fitted to the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) to conduct a series of experiments in a project called SEXTANT (Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology). The device focused its 52 X-ray telescopes on distant neutron stars called millisecond pulsars to allow it to fix its location. In the tests, it managed to do so to an accuracy of 10 miles in under eight hours.