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
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…
Read MoreChinese startup Galactic Energy bounces back with successful satellite launch
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…
Read MoreDid Astronomers See a Distant, Dying Star? Or an Earth-bound Satellite?
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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