Tag: satellites

Former Disney TV star Bridgit Mendler co-founds satellite ‘data highway’ startup

NeRD

On Tuesday (Feb. 20), after a relatively long hiatus from the public eye, Bridgit Mendler announced the launch of her new satellite data startup, Northwood. Beyond introducing quite an interesting company — one that aims to make satellite technology more accessible by mass-producing data-retrieving ground stations on Earth — there’s another major reason the launch has been making headlines. Once upon a time, Mendler was a Disney Channel actress.  The 31-year-old space CEO is probably best known for her role as Teddy Duncan, the delightful older sister of Charlie Duncan…

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Space is now ‘most essential’ domain for US military, Pentagon says

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U.S. military leaders keep stressing that space is the battlefield of the future. The latest statements that continue this orbital saber-rattling came during a change-of-command ceremony at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs on Jan. 10. During the ceremony, leadership of U.S. Space Command changed from Gen. James Dickinson to Gen. Stephen Whiting, now the third commander to oversee Space Command, which is responsible for all U.S. military operations in outer space. During the ceremony, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks asserted that, while the People’s Republic of China…

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Starlink close encounters decrease despite ever-growing number of satellites

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SpaceX has reported that the number of close encounters between its satellites and other orbital objects has not increased in the past six months despite the constellation’s growth.  Space sustainability experts say the development is good news but warn the decrease in avoidance maneuvers is likely just a deviation from what has been a longer-term upward trend.  Twice a year, SpaceX reports to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) how many times its satellites had to change their paths to avoid possible collisions with other spacecraft and space debris. The…

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World’s best space-based thermometer dead 2 months after 1st image release

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The world’s most advanced space-based thermometer thrilled scientists when it first came online. The HOTSAT-1 satellite’s first images, released in early October, revealed in unprecedented detail how temperatures change on Earth‘s surface. The satellite’s camera was so sensitive it could even track trains from space from their thermal signatures. But now, only six months after its launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the experimental spacecraft is out of order. SatVu, HOTSAT-1’s maker and operator, announced on Friday, Dec. 15, that the spacecraft suffered an “anomaly, which is expected…

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Eirsat-1, Ireland’s 1st satellite, makes space history

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Ireland has joined the space club with the launch of its first satellite to low-Earth orbit, setting the stage for students of all ages across the Emerald Isle to get involved in space science. The Educational Irish Research Satellite-1 (Eirsat-1) blasted into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Dec. 1. Around an hour and a half after launch, the tiny satellite, which is not much larger than a house brick, unfolded and deployed its antenna.  Eirsat-1 made contact with its operators…

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Chinese startup Galactic Energy bounces back with successful satellite launch

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Chinese startup Galactic Energy is flying high again after a successful satellite launch on Monday (Dec. 4). The company’s Ceres-1 solid rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 6:33 p.m. EST on Monday (2333 GMT; or 7:33 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 5). The rocket rose into a dark, predawn sky above the Gobi Desert. Aboard were the Tianyan 16 and Starpool 1A satellites. Both were inserted into near-polar orbits with altitudes of roughly 310 miles (500 kilometers). Related: Chinese company’s rocket launches 3 satellites…

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Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite?

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What seemed a lucky break — the discovery of a gamma-ray burst in the most distant known galaxy — might instead be the flash of passing space debris. As satellites fill low-Earth orbit, such events might become common. The post Did Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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