Editing Navigation (section)

==== Space navigation ====
Not to be confused with satellite navigation, which depends upon satellites to function, space navigation refers to the navigation of spacecraft themselves. This has historically been achieved (during the [[Apollo program]]) via a [[Apollo Guidance Computer|navigational computer]], an Inertial navigation system, and via celestial inputs entered by astronauts which were recorded by sextant and telescope. Space rated navigational computers, like those found on Apollo and later missions, are designed to be hardened against possible data corruption from radiation. Navigation in space has three main components: the use of a suitable reference trajectory which describes the planned flight path of the spacecraft, monitoring the actual spacecraft position while the mission is in flight (orbit determination) and creating maneuvers to bring the spacecraft back to the reference trajectory as required (flight path control).<ref name="r120">{{cite web | title=Chapter 13: Navigation | website=NASA Science | date=2023-07-20 | url=https://science.nasa.gov/learn/basics-of-space-flight/chapter13-1/ | access-date=2025-02-24}}</ref>

Another possibility that has been explored for deep space navigation is [[Pulsar-based navigation|Pulsar navigation]], which compares the X-ray bursts from a collection of known pulsars in order to determine the position of a spacecraft. This method has been tested by multiple space agencies, such as [[NASA]] and [[European Space Agency|ESA]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=GSP Executive Summary |url=https://gsp.esa.int/documents/10192/43064675/C4000106174ExS.pdf/8a26a304-9d5f-447d-aa75-bc0c955a4b78 |url-status=dead |website=gsp.esa.int |access-date=2022-12-07 |archive-date=2017-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316044511/http://gsp.esa.int/documents/10192/43064675/C4000106174ExS.pdf/8a26a304-9d5f-447d-aa75-bc0c955a4b78 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Rafi Letzter |date=2018-04-16 |title=NASA's Got a Plan for a 'Galactic Positioning System' to Save Astronauts Lost in Space |url=https://www.livescience.com/62309-galactic-positioning-system-nasa.html |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=livescience.com |language=en}}</ref>