Pulsar-Based Navigation System to Get Test on Space Station

The Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology (SEXTANT) experiment is among the projects planned for the world's first telescope dedicated to observing neutron stars, the densest known objects in the universe. The result is a ball of neutrons about 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) across — roughly the size of a city — that contains as much mass as the sun.