Lifeboat Foundation

Fascinating interview with Dutch astronomer Anthony Brown on ESA’s Gaia satellite and what it’s telling us about our own Milky Way Galaxy.

Dutch astronomer Anthony Brown of Leiden University explains how the European Space Agency’s GAIA satellite is revolutionizing what we know about the Milky Way. This all-sky survey mission revisits each target 70 times over the course of the years-long mission to give astronomers a real 3D map of a large swath of our galaxy. The next big data drop is scheduled by year’s end.

Continue reading “Episode 9 --- How ESA’s GAIA Satellite Is Revolutionizing Our Understanding of the Milky Way” »

Extensive power outages and satellite blackouts that affect air travel and the internet are some of the potential consequences of massive solar storms. These storms are believed to be caused by the release of enormous amounts of stored magnetic energy due to changes in the magnetic field of the sun’s outer atmosphere—something that until now has eluded scientists’ direct measurement. Researchers believe this recent discovery could lead to better “space weather” forecasts in the future.

“We are becoming increasingly dependent on space-based systems that are sensitive to space weather. Earth-based networks and the electrical grid can be severely damaged if there is a large eruption,” says Tomas Brage, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Lund University in Sweden.

Solar flares are bursts of radiation and charged particles, and can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth if they are large enough. Currently, researchers focus on sunspots on the surface of the sun to predict possible eruptions. Another and more direct indication of increased solar activity would be changes in the much weaker magnetic field of the outer solar atmosphere—the so-called Corona.

A car-sized asteroid discovered over the weekend made a close flyby of Earth today (July 28), passing our planet at a range that rivals the orbits of some high-flying satellites.

The asteroid 2020 OY4, which was first detected on Sunday (July 26), made its closest approach today at 1:31 a.m. EDT (0531 GMT) when it zipped by Earth at a speed of about 27,700 mph (44,600 km/h), according to the European Space Agency. The asteroid is just under 10 feet (3 meters) wide and posed no impact risk to Earth, but did approach the flight paths of geosynchronous satellites.

Featured Image Source: SpaceX Starlink

SpaceX aims to offer Starlink broadband internet service worldwide. The aerospace company has deployed 540 internet-beaming satellites into low Earth orbit. The entire network will consist of over 12,000 satellites beaming low latency, high-speed internet down to Earth. When SpaceX reaches 1,440 satellites in orbit, it will commence its commercial service. The company will first offer service in northern portions of the United States and Canada. “With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable,” the company’s website states.

Jonathan Hofeller SpaceX Vice-President of Starlink and Commercial Sales, revealed some details of the Starlink internet network during a satellite conference on Thursday. He shared that SpaceX is ready to start its private Starlink Beta testing phase with employees, friends, and family this Summer. [*The public will also have the opportunity during a Public Beta test, sign up for updates at Starlink.com]

Venus has always been a bit of the odd stepchild in the solar system. It’s similarities to Earth are uncanny: roughly the same size, mass, and distance from the sun. But the development paths the two planets ended up taking were very different, with one being the birthplace of all life as we know it, and the other becoming a cloud-covered, highly pressurized version of hell. That cloud cover, which is partially made up of sulfuric acid, has also given the planet an air of mystery. So much so that astronomers in the early 20th century speculated that there could be dinosaurs roaming about on the surface.

Some of that mystery will melt away if a team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory gets a chance to launch their newest idea for a mission to the planet, the Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topograph, and Spectroscopy (or VERITAS) mission.

Continue reading “More Details On NASA’s VERITAS Mission, Which Could Go to Venus” »

Featured Image Source: SpaceX / FCC document.

SpaceX is in the process of building its Starlink broadband internet network that will offer service worldwide to fund future missions to the moon and Mars. The aerospace company has been deploying internet-beaming Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. As of today, there is a total of 540 satellites in space, out of the 12,000 SpaceX plans to deploy. The next deployment of 57 satellites is scheduled for this month [date pending]. Company officials said 800 satellites will offer “moderate” internet coverage; 60 Starlink satellites can provide service to 40,000 customers streaming high-definition videos simultaneously. “With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable,” the company website states.

SpaceX has test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket for South Korea’s first military satellite launch on July 14.

The U.S. Army now is pairing space-based sensors with artillery units to allow howitzer and rocket gunners to detect, identify, process, and engage enemy units faster than ever. In tests conducted in Germany, Army artillery units were able to use satellite data for the first time to hit targets beyond the line of sight.

When Peter Beck of Rocket Lab said he was “incredibly sorry” for losing his customers’ satellites, the company saw a surge of public support.