Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: satellites – Page 22

The short lifespan of conventional batteries means they either cannot be used or have significant drawbacks in situations where it is not feasible to charge or replace them. For example, pacemakers, satellites, high-altitude drones or even spacecraft are low-power electrical devices where long life of the energy source is needed.

What we’re doing

A team of physicists and chemists from the University of Bristol have grown a man-made diamond that, when placed in a radioactive field, is able to generate a small electrical current.

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TITUSVILLE, Fla. — SpaceX plans to remove from orbit about 100 of its older Starlink satellites because of a design flaw that could cause them to fail.

In a statement Feb. 12, SpaceX said it would perform controlled descents of about 100 “early-version 1” Starlink satellites out of concerns that the spacecraft could fail in orbit and no longer be maneuver.

“These satellites are currently maneuverable and serving users effectively, but the Starlink team identified a common issue in this small population of satellites that could increase the probability of failure in the future,” SpaceX stated. The company did not elaborate on that issue or identify the specific satellites affected.

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SpaceX launched an environmental research satellite for NASA early Thursday, a nearly $1 billion spacecraft that survived multiple cancellation threats and is now poised to shed new light on climate change and the complex interplay of heat-trapping carbon, aerosols and sea life on global scales.

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission — PACE — “will dramatically advance our understanding of the relationship between aerosols and clouds, and the global energy balance,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Earth sciences division. “This is one of the biggest sources of uncertainty in our ability to model the climate.”

She said PACE is “going to teach us about the oceans in the same way that Webb (the James Webb Space Telescope) is teaching us about the cosmos.” And that includes “a tremendous amount about ocean biology.”

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WASHINGTON — Quindar has raised an additional $6 million to further development of software to automate operations of satellite constellations.

The company announced Jan. 30 that it closed $6 million in funding as an extension to a $2.5 million seed round it announced a year ago. Venture capital firm Fuse led the round with participation from existing investors Y Combinator and Founders Fund.

Quindar has developed software designed to automate satellite operations. The company says it has validated that system with an unnamed customer who is using it to manage a growing fleet of spacecraft.

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