Lifeboat Foundation

The Navy has fielded a 650-round ammo backpack nicknamed ‘Avenger’ to troops at some point in the last several years, the service confirmed to Task & Purpose, although officials declined to elaborate on the scope or details of the system’s employment.

“Unfortunately we cannot disclose this type of information as it pertains to troop location, movements, and tactics,” Lisa Oswald, a spokeswoman for Naval Supply Systems Command, told Task & Purpose.

No, like, it literally might be garbage.

A strange object is hurtling toward Earth and, according to estimations of its trajectory, it will briefly become a mini-moon.

🌌You like badass space stuff. So do we. Let’s nerd out over the universe together.

Continue reading “Earth Is Getting a New Mini-Moon That Might Be a Piece of Human-Made Junk” »

Circuitry of the pallium mirrors the mammalian neocortex.

DARPA’s near-zero-power sensors have extended battery lifetimes from four weeks to up to four years, but more work needs to be done.

Last year, for the first time, the world gazed in collective wonder at an actual direct image of a black hole’s shadow.

Now, looking back at earlier, more rudimentary images, scientists have found evidence that the ring around M87 has a wobble that makes it look as though it’s glittering.

Continue reading “The Giant Black Hole We Imaged For The First Time Now Appears to Be… Glittering” »

The United States Air Force signed a deal with SpaceX valued at around $28 million in 2018, to assess the Starlink network’s performance on military platforms. The Air Force is actively experimenting with how space-based internet could enhance Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). These operations require moving vast quantities of data between the five domains of warfare: ground, sea, sky, outer space, and cyberspace. The military needs a reliable communication system at all times to protect and defend the country from potential threats. The assessment of Starlink will offer the military insight on whether it should purchase Starlink service long-term.

U.S. Air Force Chief for Acquisition Dr. Will Roper, who serves as the principal adviser for technology research and development, met with reporters to discuss a live-fire military exercise that took place early this month, Investors news reports. During the conference, Roper shared SpaceX’s Starlink network was tested during the live-fire exercise as part of the military’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). – “What I’ve seen from Starlink has been impressive and positive,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “They’re cleverly engineered satellites cleverly deployed. So, there’s a lot to learn from how they’re designed and I think that there’s a lot we can learn from them.”

Roper shared that the Air Force connected Starlink to a “variety of air and terrestrial assets”. Starlink terminals are hooked to the cockpit of a Boeing (BA) KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to assess the network’s performance while the airplanes fly.

Part of my series countering common misconceptions in space journalism.

This blog is a follow on to my original post on Starlink. Starlink is an emerging high performance satellite-based internet routing network developed by SpaceX. Its ultimate purpose is to become the de-facto internet backbone provider, connect billions more people to the internet, and revolutionize access to space.

Continue reading “Starlink packet routing” »

If you want your vehicle to last long past your final payment, get one that can go the distance.

A research and development lab of the Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in the southern city of Dongguan caught fire, producing large clouds of thick grey smoke. Locals caught the incident on camera.

The videos show plumes of smoke coming from the building’s top floors, and largely obscuring the sky above the facility. According to the local fire department, the flammable sound-absorbing cotton which the facility was using may be the main source of the blaze.

🚨 #BREAKING – A #Huawei research laboratory burns in 🔥 #Dongguanpic.twitter.com/BGqR7Hmz0J — ISCResearch (@ISCResearch) September 25, 2020