Engineers from Swiss company BKW have announced The Goldfish Project – a solar submarine in Lake Thun, that draws energy from a floating solar platform.

Like a water lily, the floating solar platform consists of a central element with a marquee, surrounded by five satellites fitted with solar panels. According to BKW, the energy produced by the solar power station is sufficient to guarantee the dives of the submarine, and ensure the fully-automatic positioning of the platform via GPS.

A solar powered shuttle boats will be used to bring the passengers from the shore, to the floating platform. The submarine will have a maximum diving depth of 300m, and be able to carry up to 24 people.

Researchers at Queen’s University are developing a new robotic system to service more than 8,000 satellites now orbiting the Earth, beyond the flight range of ground-based repair operations.

Currently, when the high-flying celestial objects malfunction – or simply run out of fuel – they become “space junk” cluttering the cosmos.

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NASA plans to send a satellite weighing less than 10 pounds into space, with an ultra-thin, 100 square foot solar sail as its primary means of altitude control or orbital manoeuvring.

NanoSail-D is the result of a partnership between Marshall Space Flight Center, and Ames Research Center. NASA will send the satellite into space on-board a SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket, scheduled for launch from Omelek Island in the Pacific Ocean between July 29th and August 6th.

Talking about the NanoSail-D, Edward Montgomery, payload manager, said: “The structure is made of aluminium and space-age plastic. The whole spacecraft weighs less than 10 pounds. We carry it around in a special suitcase – airplane carry-on luggage size.”

Once in space, a Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer, developed at the University of California, will be used to deploy the sail. Fully opened, the kite-shaped sail spreads out about 100-square feet of light-catching surface.

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