// ORBITAL LOGISTICS AND PROPULSION TERM

Galaxy

A vast system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter held together by gravity. Our solar system is part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

TECHNICAL DEFINITION

A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system comprising stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter, ranging from dwarf galaxies with millions of stars to giant galaxies with trillions, like the Milky Way.

BACKGROUND

Bigelow Aerospace was an American space design and manufacturing company which ceased operations in 2020. It was an aeronautics and outer space technology company which manufactured and developed expandable space station modules. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and was based in North Las Vegas, Nevada. It was funded in large part by the profit Bigelow gained through his ownership of the hotel chain Budget Suites of America.

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SYNONYMS & ALIASES

  • Star system
  • island universe
  • spiral galaxy
  • elliptical galaxy

USAGE NOTE

Galaxies are the fundamental building blocks of the universe's large-scale structure and evolution.

DEVELOPERS

Organizations developing technology related to Galaxy.

  • Intelsat

    A multinational satellite services provider that operates a large fleet of communications satellites, including the prominent 'Galaxy' series of geostationary satellites used for video and data transmission.

  • Galaxy Space (银河航天)

    A private Chinese aerospace company developing and deploying a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation designed to provide global 5G communication and satellite internet services.

  • NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

    The U.S. space agency that develops and operates advanced space telescopes like the Hubble, Chandra, and James Webb, which are critical for observing and studying the formation, structure, and evolution of distant galaxies.

  • European Space Agency (ESA)

    An intergovernmental organization that develops technology for space exploration, including missions like the Gaia observatory, which is creating an unprecedented 3D map of our Milky Way galaxy, and the Euclid mission to study dark matter by observing billions of galaxies.

  • SpaceX

    An aerospace company whose Starlink division is building a mega-constellation, a literal 'galaxy' of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, to provide high-speed internet service worldwide.

  • Northrop Grumman

    A major aerospace and defense contractor that was the prime builder of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a key instrument for galactic and extragalactic research. The company also builds various satellite buses and spacecraft components.

  • Amazon (Project Kuiper)

    An Amazon subsidiary deploying a large constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit with the mission of providing global broadband internet connectivity, creating a man-made 'galaxy' of communication nodes.

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