Archive for the ‘satellites’ category: Page 161
Oct 15, 2017
The Future May Owe Itself to Blockchain Technology. Here’s Why
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: bitcoin, computing, economics, internet, satellites
Sending satellites into space is going to continue to get cheaper since SpaceX proved it could reliably launch refurbished rockets. This is going to open up space exploration to more entities allowing for the continued democratization of space. Other technological advances could make a global space centered sharing economy a real possibility.
The rise of the internet and the ubiquity of mobile computing devices have changed everything from travel and shopping to politics – think Uber, Amazon, and Twitter.
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Oct 13, 2017
General Atomics ramping cubesat production, muses railgun smallsat launcher
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: drones, military, satellites
WASHINGTON — General Atomics is better known for building Predator combat drones and mining uranium than building spacecraft, but that could change as the company develops an interest in building defense-focused cubesats.
Also in the realm of possibility: using expertise from building railguns to design a large, electromagnetic cannon as a means to orbit small satellites.
Nick Bucci, vice president of missile defense and space systems for General Atomic’s Electromagnetic Systems Group, said the company has built 11 cubesats for the U.S. Army over the past seven years, and is gradually becoming more and more invested in space.
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Oct 9, 2017
BridgeSat — Satellite data bandwidth ground station network
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: satellites
Oct 6, 2017
Spacewalk 360: RT releases first-ever panoramic video of man in outer space (VIDEO)
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: satellites
RT has released the first-ever 360-degree footage shot by man in outer space, putting viewers in the shoes of two Russian cosmonauts launching nanosatellites from outside the International Space Station (ISS).
The video, which shows out-of-this-world views of Planet Earth, is the first time that the so-called extravehicular activity (EVA) has been filmed in 360. The immersive new format previously helped viewers explore the ISS modules as part of the Space 360 project.
Oct 5, 2017
Pence Pledges the U.S. Will Go to the Moon, Mars and Beyond
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: government, military, policy, satellites, space
Washington (AP) — Seated before the grounded space shuttle Discovery, a constellation of Trump administration officials used soaring rhetoric to vow to send Americans back to the moon and then on to Mars.
After voicing celestial aspirations, top officials moved to what National Intelligence Director Dan Coats called “a dark side” to space policy. Coats, Vice President Mike Pence, other top officials and outside space experts said the United States has to counter and perhaps match potential enemies’ ability to target U.S. satellites.
Pence, several cabinet secretaries and White House advisers gathered in the shadow of the shuttle at the Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to chart a new path in space — government, commercial and military — for the country. It was the first meeting of the National Space Council, revived after it was disbanded in 1993.
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Oct 2, 2017
An Earth-Sized Space Shield to Protect Us From Solar Storms Is Less Crazy Than It Sounds
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: economics, particle physics, satellites
Every 100 years or so, our Sun gives off a great big belch that sends an intense wave of charged particles towards Earth. This wasn’t a problem in the past, but our high-tech civilization is now disturbingly vulnerable to these solar storms. A new study quantifies the economic risks posed by these extreme solar storms, while also proposing a super-futuristic solution to the problem: an Earth-sized shield built in outer space.
The term “solar storm” is used to identify the various nasties the Sun can hurl our way, including x-rays, charged particles, and magnetized plasma. In 1859, a series of powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) hit our planet head on, disrupting telegraph stations and causing widespread communication outages. If we were to be hit by an equally powerful solar storm today, it would knock out satellites and electrical grids, disrupting global communications, transportation, and supply chains. Total worldwide losses could reach up to $10 trillion, with recovery taking many years.
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Sep 30, 2017
Investment: GomSpace to establish space company in Luxembourg
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: economics, government, satellites
GomSpace Group, a company listed on the Nasdaq First North Premier exchange, and the Luxembourg Economy Ministry agreed in principle to establish in the country a company focused on satellite operations and data processing and distribution.
By 2021 the company could employ up to 50 full-time staff, GomSpace said in a statement. The ministry will provide funding through its Luxembourg space programme as well as grants for research and development that will happen in the country, it said.
“By choosing the Grand-Duchy for their international expansion, GomSpace acknowledges the substantial efforts of the government over the last years to put in place the necessary measures to support the continued strengthening and diversification of its space sector,” Economy Minister Etienne Schneider said.
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Sep 24, 2017
SpaceX Files Trademark Documents for its Global Internet Network
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: Elon Musk, internet, satellites
Sep 7, 2017
High-Dimensional Quantum Encryption Performed in Real-World City Conditions for First Time
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: encryption, quantum physics, satellites
For the first time, researchers have sent a quantum-secured message containing more than one bit of information per photon through the air above a city. The demonstration showed that it could one day be practical to use high-capacity, free-space quantum communication to create a highly secure link between ground-based networks and satellites, a requirement for creating a global quantum encryption network.
Quantum encryption uses photons to encode information in the form of quantum bits. In its simplest form, known as 2D encryption, each photon encodes one bit: either a one or a zero. Scientists have shown that a single photon can encode even more information—a concept known as high-dimensional quantum encryption—but until now this has never been demonstrated with free-space optical communication in real-world conditions. With eight bits necessary to encode just one letter, for example, packing more information into each photon would significantly speed up data transmission.
“Our work is the first to send messages in a secure manner using high-dimensional quantum encryption in realistic city conditions, including turbulence,” said research team lead, Ebrahim Karimi, University of Ottawa, Canada. “The secure, free-space communication scheme we demonstrated could potentially link Earth with satellites, securely connect places where it is too expensive to install fiber, or be used for encrypted communication with a moving object, such as an airplane.”
