FCC approves direct-to-smartphone regulatory framework
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 17:26
FCC approves ground rules for allowing satellite operators to use radio waves from terrestrial mobile partners. Federal Communications Commission voted March 14 unanimously in favor of its regulatory framework. SpaceX aims to enable text services to phones already in circulation in the United States this year. SpaceX plans to use T-Mobile spectrum for direct-to-smartphone services.
Sierra Space developing dual-use spacecraft with military potential
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 17:05
Sierra Space is best known for developing Dream Chaser, a reusable spaceplane. But the company also is gaining traction in the national security space business. The company has $1.3 billion worth of defense-related orders. Sierra Space is also developing a return capsule that can transport cargo from space.
Starship lifts off on third test flight
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 14:03
SpaceX’s Starship vehicle lifted off on its third test flight March 14. It avoided the fate of the previous Starship launch in November, when the vehicle broke apart late in its burn. Telemetry was lost about 49 and a half minutes after liftoff.
Space Development Agency marks five-year milestone
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 19:52
The Pentagon established the Space Development Agency five years ago. The agency is deploying the initial portion of a low-Earth orbit constellation. It has 27 satellites on orbit and plans to launch more than 160 over the next 18 months. The agency is viewed inside the Pentagon as a model for a swifter, more commercial style of procurement.
Global communications are under attack — optical satellite networks can bolster them
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 14:30
Yemen’s Houthi movement reportedly knocked out four of the Red Sea’s underwater communication cables between Saudi Arabia and Djibouti. Undersea and land cables, which bring internet connectivity to millions, are now considered infrastructure worthy of attack during times of conflict.
Satellite firms forge unlikely alliances to create seamless multi-orbit networks
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 14:00
Satellite communications industry is moving towards hybrid networks. These combine services from low-Earth orbit with those from higher altitude satellites in medium and geostationary orbits. The shift is driven by both commercial demands and security needs, with the U.S. Government and commercial users increasingly seeking multi-orbit solutions.
FAA requests large funding increase for commercial space office
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 12:07
FAA seeks $57.13 million for Office of Commercial Space Transportation. That is a 36% increase from the $42.018 million AST received in the final fiscal year 2024 spending bill. $7.9 million would go towards hiring additional staff to support launch and reentry licensing.
FINAL UPDATE: SpaceX’s Starship 3 successfully soars – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 00:00
SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket for the third time on Thursday from the company’s launch site in South Texas at 9:25 a.m. ET. The three minutes into the flight the spacecraft separated from its booster as planned and traveled further than it had on its previous test flights. SpaceX lost communication with the vehicle before it successfully made it to its planned splashdown location in the Indian Ocean. The company confirmed roughly 10 minutes in that the spacecraft successfully reached orbit.
J.F. Lehman & Company completes their acquisition of Mission Microwave – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 00:00
Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC is a leading provider of Solid-State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) and Block Upconverters (BUCs) to the SATCOM market. The Company’s X-, Ku- and Ka-band units support critical ground-based, airborne, maritime and space-based applications.
Resolve Optics ensures successful optical deployment in space providing services for spacecraft – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 00:00
Resolve Optics actively participates in designing and supplying optical systems for a range of different space projects. Lenses that are used in space applications have to meet certain basic requirements to survive the harsh environment of space. All optical elements within Resolve Optics radiation tolerant lens designs are made using cerium oxide doped glass or synthetic silica.
GomSpace North America’s next partnership milestone with SAIC a specialized satellite – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-14 00:00
GomSpace North America has announced the next milestone of a long-term partnership with SAIC, the $7 billion Federal contractor headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The companies announced a strategic partnership in 2023, and now SAIC has purchased a satellite kit from GomSpace which SAIC will integrate into a specialized satellite.
SpaceX scrubs Starlink launch 2 minutes before sendoff — now 2 launches tomorrow – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 00:00
SpaceX now targeting Thursday, March 14 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron pegged the odds of “go for launch” conditions at 95% for this backup window. This will mark more than 6,000 Starlink satellites launched to date.
Airbus rolls out OneAtlas update – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-03-13 00:00
Airbus’ OneAtlas Radar Tasking & Archive service now includes Quicklook imagery of the entire Radar data archive. In addition, the entire Radar Constellation archive catalogue is also available as GeoPackage or Shapefile for download. This will allow users to browse or analyze the catalog offline in third-party applications.
Eclipse solar total de 2024: Dónde y cuando
La trayectoria del eclipse solar total atraviesa México, pasa por Estados Unidos desde Texas hasta Maine and llega hasta Canadá. La franja oscura a traviesa el continente muestra dónde tendrán que estar los observadores para ver la fantasmagórica atmósfera exterior blanca del Sol (la corona)
Eclipse solar total de 2024: Qué esperar
La trayectoria del eclipse solar total atraviesa México, pasa por Estados Unidos desde Texas hasta Maine and llega hasta Canadá. Fuera de esas trayectorias, el mapa también muestra dónde y en qué medida el Sol será eclipsado parcialmente by la Luna.
2024 NASA Science Planning Guide
It's time to celebrate National Day of Remembrance at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. On Sunday, July 23. It's also the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, which took place on July 22-23, 1914.
Cheers! NASA’s Webb Finds Ethanol, Other Icy Ingredients for Worlds
Scientists believe COMs originate from the sublimation of ices. Sublimation is to change directly from a solid to a gas without becoming a liquid. These icy COMs can therefore be incorporated into comets and asteroids, which in turn may collide with forming planets, delivering the ingredients for life to possibly flourish.