Japan To Launch Wooden Satellites

We may have wooden satellites in just a few years, according to an announcement this month by Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, organizations whose combined roots go back 550 years.

Wood’s place in high-technology has a long track record. During World War 2, wooden boats were used for minesweepers, the …read more

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OneWeb emerges from bankruptcy, launching 36 more broadband satellites

This year has been quite a ride for OneWeb and its globe-connecting constellation of low Earth orbiting broadband satellites. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March with just 74 of its initial planned 648 satellites in orbit, the company was r… Continue reading OneWeb emerges from bankruptcy, launching 36 more broadband satellites

SpaceX dark coating successfully cuts Starlink satellite reflectivity

By applying a dark coating to one of its Starlink satellites, SpaceX has been able to cut its satellite’s apparent brightness in half, according to the results of a new study. The research suggests that applying the coating to more satellites could hel… Continue reading SpaceX dark coating successfully cuts Starlink satellite reflectivity

New Gaia data reveals the motion of our galaxy in extravagant detail

ESA has made public a colossal data release from the agency’s Gaia observatory, which is currently engaged in a mission to survey 1 billion stars orbiting in the Milky Way. The data has already borne fruit, shedding light on the violent history of our … Continue reading New Gaia data reveals the motion of our galaxy in extravagant detail

Decades of solar activity condensed into 47-minute time-lapse video

Scientists have condensed decades of footage taken of our Sun’s atmosphere into a 47-minute video showcasing solar activity on a grand scale. The video was released to celebrate the 25th orbital anniversary of the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric observ… Continue reading Decades of solar activity condensed into 47-minute time-lapse video

Hackaday Links: November 15, 2020

Now that we drive around cars that are more like mobile data centers than simple transportation, there’s a wealth of data to be harvested when the inevitable crashes occur. After a recent Tesla crash on a California highway, a security researcher got a hold of the car’s “black box” and …read more

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Tracking Satellites with a Commodore PET

A recent writeup by Tom Nardi about using the 6502-based NES to track satellites brought back memories of my senior project at Georgia Tech back in the early 80s.  At our club station W4AQL, I had become interested in Amateur Radio satellites.  It was quite a thrill to hear your …read more

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Microsoft debuts Azure Space to cater to the space industry, partners with SpaceX for Starlink datacenter broadband

Microsoft is taking its Azure cloud computing platform to the final frontier – space. It now has a dedicated business unit called Azure Space for that purpose, made up of industry heavyweights and engineers who are focused on space-sector services including simulation of space missions, gathering and interpreting satellite data to provide insights, and providing […] Continue reading Microsoft debuts Azure Space to cater to the space industry, partners with SpaceX for Starlink datacenter broadband

Boeing and US Space Force developing advanced communication satellites

Boeing and the US Space Force have completed the first major engineering design review of a new generation of military communication satellites. Being developed by the United States Department of Defense, Canadian Department of National Defence, and th… Continue reading Boeing and US Space Force developing advanced communication satellites

UK’s supercomputer nanosatellites to better predict ship movements

Britain has sent two satellites into space that are smaller than a microwave, yet are the smartest ever produced by the UK. On September 28, 2020 at 12:20 pm BST, four Glasgow-built Spire nanosatellites lifted off atop a Russian Soyuz launcher, two of … Continue reading UK’s supercomputer nanosatellites to better predict ship movements