Category Archives: communications

The UK’s oldest satellite, Skynet-1A, mysteriously shifted from its original orbit above East Africa to a new position over the Americas, likely due to a mid-1970s command whose origins remain unknown. “The question is who that was and with what author… Continue reading Somebody Moved UK’s Oldest Satellite, No-One Knows Who or Why→

A pre-dawn statewide alert about an officer shooting in Hall County triggered over 4,500 complaints to the Federal Communications Commission. The 4:52 a.m. “Blue Alert” on October 4 awakened millions of Texans, many living hundreds of miles from the in… Continue reading What Tired Texans Wrote To the FCC→

Starlink has launched home Internet service to 99.5% of residents in the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) after a multi-year collaboration with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory to minimize interference with radio telescopes. “The vast majority … Continue reading Starlink Enters National Radio Quiet Zone→

Apple is taking a 20 percent stake in its iPhone satellite connectivity partner GlobalStar — a stake worth $400 million — as part of an expansion of its deal with the company. From a report: GlobalStar will also receive a prepayment of $1.1 billion f… Continue reading Apple is Buying 20% of Its iPhone Satellite Services Partner→

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Behind the Black: According to a new very detailed engineering analysis into the causes of the collapse of the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico in 2020, the failure was caused first by a surprising interac… Continue reading Arecibo Collapsed Because of Engineering Failures That Inspectors Failed To Spot→

Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel outlined a vision for universal connectivity last week that merges satellite and ground-based networks. The FCC recently became the first regulator to establish a framework for supplemental co… Continue reading FCC Chair: Mobile Dead Spots Will End When Space-Based and Ground Comms Merge→

“Boeing has had a series of issues over the past few years,” writes Slashdot reader quonset. “From planes crashing, lost service records, to a recent strike which cost them $6 billion, now comes word a satellite they made has exploded in space.” CBS Ne… Continue reading Boeing-Made Satellite Explodes In Space→

Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Via Satellite: SpaceX submitted a request to the FCC to modify the second generation, Gen2, of its Starlink satellite system with changes that SpaceX said will allow the constellation to deliver gig… Continue reading SpaceX Requests Starlink Gen2 Modification, Previews Gigabit-Speeds→

India announced on Tuesday it would allocate spectrum for satellite services through administrative means rather than auction, a decision that aligns with recent comments by Elon Musk and rebuffs lobbying efforts by the country’s largest telecom operat… Continue reading India Agrees With Musk in Satellite Spectrum Allocation Row→