Safran Electronics & Defense will establish a new production line for satellite electric propulsion systems in the United States to serve U.S. customers.
Category: satellites – Page 17
China’s secretive space plane caught on camera in orbit (photos)
Schöfbänker made use of a telescope having a 14-inch mirror and assorted gear capable of following satellites that keeps them automatically in the center of a field of view, finessing the equipment with a bit of input and corrections, he told Space.com.
“I make these images by taking a video during the flyover and then stacking (averaging out) and sharpening the best frames,” Schöfbänker said.
The two solar panels that can be seen at the end aren’t visible on any of the computer renderings available online, Schöfbänker advised. “I am not really sure if they are solar panels or some other features like an antenna or something of that nature.”
SpaceX still plans for Sunday launch of 23 Starlink smallsats; and now available in Tonga
SpaceX is targeting Sunday, August 4 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 12:24 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 3:52 a.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, August 5 starting at 12:24 a.m. ET.
SpaceX Schedules Falcon 9 Rocket Launch for Wednesday Carrying Starlink Satellites from Cape Canaveral
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, July 24 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The launch window opens at 12:14 a.m. ET.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch another batch of second-generation Starlink satellites.
Maxar Intelligence unveils first images from next-generation WorldView Legion satellites
WASHINGTON — Maxar Intelligence, a provider of geospatial intelligence and Earth observation services, on July 18 released the first images from its WorldView Legion satellites. The inaugural pair of these advanced Earth observation satellites were launched on May 2 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
WorldView Legion is Maxar’s latest constellation of high-resolution Earth imaging satellites, designed to increase the company’s imaging capacity and revisit rates. These satellites are capable of collecting 30 cm-class imagery, providing detailed views of the Earth’s surface for a wide range of applications, from defense and intelligence to urban planning and disaster response.
Maxar said the commissioning and calibration process for the first two WorldView Legion satellites is still under way.
Space radiation can damage satellites − my team discovered that a next-generation material could self-heal when exposed to cosmic rays
The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.
In a paper published in January 2024, my team of materials researchers demonstrated that a next-generation semiconductor material called metal-halide perovskite can actually recover and heal itself from radiation damage.
No GPS, no problem: Researchers are making quantum sensing tools more compact and accurate to replace GPS
Fundamental physics—let alone quantum physics—might sound complicated to many, but it can actually be applied to solve everyday problems.
Imagine navigating to an unfamiliar place. Most people would suggest using GPS, but what if you were stuck in an underground tunnel where radio signals from satellites were not able to penetrate? That’s where quantum sensing tools come in.
USC Viterbi Information Sciences Institute researchers Jonathan Habif and Justin Brown, both from ISI’s new Laboratory for Quantum-Limited Information, are working at making sensing instruments like atomic accelerometers smaller and more accurate so they can be used to navigate when GPS is down.