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Laser retroreflector arrays (LRAs) are advancing GPS satellite capabilities, crucial for accurate Earth measurements in geodesy. This technology enables precise tracking of Earth’s shape, rotation, and environmental changes.

The best known use of GPS satellites is to help people know their location whether driving a car, navigating a ship or plane, or trekking across remote territory. Another important, but lesser-known, use is to distribute information to other Earth-viewing satellites to help them pinpoint measurements of our planet.

NASA and several other federal agencies, including the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Space Command, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency are improving the location accuracy of these measurements down to the millimeter with a new set of laser retroreflector arrays, or LRAs.

Even though the guts of General Relativity are obtusely mathematical, and for decades was relegated to math departments rather than proper physics, you get to experience the technological gift of relativity every time you navigate to your favorite restaurant. GPS, the global positioning system, consists of a network of orbiting satellites constantly beaming out precise timing data. Your phone compares those signals to figure out where you are on the Earth. But there is a difference in spacetime between the surface of the Earth and the orbit of the satellites. Without taking general relativity into account, your navigation would simply be incorrect, and you’d be late for dinner.

As revolutions go, general relativity is a big one. And as unifications go, it’s a warning. To make this union happen Einstein had to radically, permanently alter not just our conceptions of gravity as a force acting through space and time, but our conceptions of space and time itself. It took no less than a complete overhaul of our entire philosophical understanding of the relation between space and time to bridge the gap.

And as Einstein would find in the ensuing decades, all the way to the time of his death, that bringing other forces like electromagnetism into the same unified fold would be all but impossible. Electromagnetism, and the other forces, cannot be conceptualized in the same way. Instead we have to use quantum probabilities to make predictions, and when we apply the same technique to gravity we just get infinities.

WASHINGTON — Space launch provider and satellite manufacturer Rocket Lab has secured a deal worth over half a billion dollars to build 18 satellites for a U.S. government agency.

As disclosed in an SEC regulatory filing Dec. 21, Rocket Lab National Security will “design, manufacture, deliver and operate 18 space vehicles” as part of a U.S. government contract valued at $515 million. A spokesperson said the company could not provide further details.

Sources indicate that the customer is likely the Space Development Agency.

HughesNet’s move to offer 100 Mbps speeds brings it closer to its industry rival, SpaceX’s Starlink, which ranges between 25 to 220 Mbps.

HughesNet’s Jupiter 3 satellite, although geostationary and considerably farther away, rivals Starlink with its size and capacity. The ultra-high-density satellite operates in Ka-band frequencies with 300 spot beams, efficiently allocating and directing signals for better coverage.

Hughes, a pioneer in satellite-delivered internet service since the 1990s, continues to earn recognition.

The company launched 23 of its Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket that had flown 18 times before, breaking its own record for the most flights by a single booster.


SpaceX has achieved a new milestone in its quest to reuse rockets and reduce the cost of spaceflight. The company launched 23 Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket that had flown 18 times before, breaking its record for the most flights by a single booster.

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, completing the first 19th launch and landing of a booster pic.twitter.com/WoVx0R0Esj — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2023

SpaceX is aiming to launch another batch of Starlink v2 Mini satellites from the Space Launch Complex 40 launchpad. This Booster, B1058, will try to launch and land for a record-breaking 19th time.\
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Window Opens: December 22nd at 11PM EST (04:00 UTC on the 23rd)\
Window Closes: December 23rd at 3:31AM EST (08:31 UTC)\
Primary T0: December 22nd at 11:00PM EST (04:00 UTC on the 23rd)\
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Mission: F9 launch of 23 Starlink v2 Mini satellites \
Target orbit: 285km perigee, 293km apogee, 43 degree inclination.\
Booster: B1058-19; 49d 3h 22min 40s turnaround\
Booster history: Demo-2, Anasis II, SL v1.0–12, CRS-21, Transporter-1, SL v1.0–20, SL v1.0–23, SL v1.0–26, SL 4–1, Transporter-3, SL 4–8, SL 4–17, SL 4–21, SL 4–2, SL 4–37, SL 6–5, SL 6–17, SL 6–26.\
Booster recovery: Droneship Just Read The Instructions (JRIT) located 629km downrange\
Fairing recovery: Bob\
Rocket trajectory: Southeast passing north of Bahamas\
Stubby nozzle: NO\
Stats: \
· SpaceX’s 95th launch of the year and the 6th launch of the month\
· 262nd Falcon orbital launch since Amos 6, F9’s 282nd orbital flight.\
· SpaceX’s 161st launch from SLC-40\
· 71st landing on JRTI out of 72 attempts\
· 181st successful landing since the last failed one\
· 55th launch dedicated to Starlink Gen 2 and 129th launch dedicated to Starlink overall.\
· First Falcon booster to fly for a 19th time\
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Forum: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind…\
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The new Galileo satellite model from Thales Alenia Space underwent mechanical and signal performance testing this summer at ESA’s ESTEC Test Center. Structural models resisted launch-like noise and vibrations while an electrical model proved its ability to send Galileo signals—a major milestone in the development of Galileo’s Second Generation.

Europe’s Galileo is the world’s most precise navigation system, providing meter-level accuracy to more than 4 billion users worldwide. It currently comprises 28 satellites in orbit and 10 more are due to be launched, after which a new generation of satellites, the Galileo Second Generation or G2, will revolutionize the fleet with enhanced capabilities.

“G2 satellites will be much larger than those of the First Generation, use , host a more powerful navigation antenna, carry more and even better atomic clocks on board and have fully digital payloads,” explains ESA’s Galileo Second Generation Project Manager Miguel Manteiga Bautista. “The modular architecture will offer a high degree of flexibility to accommodate more equipment and inter-satellite links will be enabled,” he adds.

WASHINGTON — Defense contractor L3Harris announced Dec. 20 it has received approval from the Space Development Agency to move into production on 16 satellites designed to detect and monitor hypersonic missiles aimed at the U.S. or its allies.

L3Harris said its satellites cleared a critical design review and a production readiness review.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is a U.S. Space Force organization building a layered network of satellites known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. It includes a Transport Layer of interconnected communications satellites that will transmit data collected by the Tracking Layer of sensor satellites.