The Quebec government will invest 400 million Canadian dollars ($315.5 million) in Telesat’s Lightspeed low-Earth orbit communications network, MDA will produce the constellation’s phased array antennas and prime contractor Thales Alenia Space will manufacture the satellites in Quebec.
A new agreement will create an open-source software ecosystem to support government technology research and development.
Shouldn’t NASA — National Aeronautics and Space Administration already be building a moon-base with Elon Musk at SpaceX as well as Russia and China? Congress should fund space travel.
RUSSIA and China are joining forces as they prepare to sign a historic deal to build the first moon base after they snubbed the US.
The two countries are to collaborate on the international lunar structure, which was thought up by China — the latest build in the space-race against America.
Continue reading “Russia & China ready to sign deal to build first moon base after snubbing US” »
It appears that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite constellation is not just aiming to provide high-speed internet service. Based on recent filings to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Starlink also plans to introduce a suite of related products to its portfolio, from a dedicated phone service, emergency backup for voice calls, and more affordable internet access for low-income customers through the US government’s Lifeline program.
Details of Starlink’s expanded services were mentioned in SpaceX’s petition to the FCC for a designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC). According to the Elon Musk-led company, an ETC designation is required in some US states where the satellite internet program won government funding to provide internet access to underserved areas. It is also required to receive reimbursement from the FCC’s Lifeline program, which offers discounts on telecom services for low-income customers.
Starlink’s beta today only offers internet access, but in its filing, SpaceX noted that “Starlink Services will provide voice telephony services, including: (a) voice-grade access to the public switched telephone network (‘PSTN’) or its functional equivalent; (b) minutes of use for local service provided at no additional charge to end-users; © access to emergency services; and (d) toll limitation services to qualifying low-income consumers in accordance with 47 CFR §§ 54.500, et seq. Starlink Services will offer voice services on a standalone basis at rates that are reasonably comparable to urban rates.”
The government turned off the money spigot, and now OmegA will never see the light of day.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency magnate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do that, he’s asking the state to let companies like his form local governments on land they own, which would grant them power over everything from schools to law enforcement.
Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Nevada-based Blockchains LLC, envisions a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online footprint — financial statements, medical records and personal data — on blockchain. Blockchain is a digital ledger known mostly for recording cryptocurrency transactions but also has been adopted by some local governments for everything from documenting marriage licenses to facilitating elections.
The company wants to break ground by 2022 in rural Storey County, 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of Reno. It’s proposing to build 15000 homes and 33 million square feet (3 million square meters) of commercial and industrial space within 75 years. Berns, whose idea is the basis for draft legislation that some lawmakers saw behind closed doors last week, said traditional government doesn’t offer enough flexibility to create a community where people can invent new uses for this technology.
All governments across the globe are the same they don’t want a free flow of information that would challenge their authority and decisions that they think are good for us, maybe because they want to maintain law and order in society.
I am against the control of social media by the government and I am also against the algorithms which are designed to make people addicted to social media by showing the thing that appeals most to them for profit.
What are your opinions on this topic, how we can achieve the balance between these challenging aspects of social media use?
Continue reading “Social media must not be allowed to destroy democracy, says the EU President” »
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NASA has decided to launch the multibillion-dollar Europa Clipper mission on a commercial heavy-lift rocket in October 2024, and not on the government-owned Space Launch System, officials said Wednesday.
The decision ends a prolonged dilemma for NASA, which until last year was legally required to launch the Europa Clipper mission on the more expensive Space Launch System. The language passed in previous NASA appropriations bills directed NASA to launch the probe on the SLS rocket, but Congress relented in the fiscal year 2021 spending bill passed in December.
Continue reading “NASA decides to launch Europa Clipper on commercial rocket in 2024” »
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From the annals of “nothing to see here,” China’s largest state physics lab is insisting it’s not helping a private company build a time machine. The strange happenings are straight out of the scientist version of TMZ, with a leaked PowerPoint presentation and gossip swirling.
So: Is the Chinese government collaborating with a startup in order to travel through time?
As commercial space companies increase the cadence of successful rocket launches, access to space is becoming more routine for both government and commercial interests. But even with regular launches, modern rockets impose mass and volume limits on the payloads they deliver to orbit. This size constraint hinders developing and deploying large-scale, dynamic space systems that can adapt to changes in their environment or mission.
