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Satellites

All articles tagged with #satellites

Starlink satellites become a giant scanner of Earth's upper atmosphere
science1 day ago

Starlink satellites become a giant scanner of Earth's upper atmosphere

Researchers used publicly available orbital data from about 1,200 Starlink satellites at roughly 482 km altitude to estimate thermospheric density through atmospheric drag. Applying tomography across the satellite constellation produced a two-dimensional map of density variations by geography, which closely matches observations from ESA’s Swarm satellites. The approach could improve models of satellite motion and collision risk as low-Earth orbit gets busier, and hints at near-real-time atmospheric monitoring using commercial spacecraft data in the future.

via The Times of India|
#satellites#science#space
Trump Space Push Targets Three Launches a Day by 2030
politics4 days ago

Trump Space Push Targets Three Launches a Day by 2030

The White House released a policy blueprint to expand U.S. launch and reentry infrastructure to support more than 1,000 rocket launches and spacecraft returns per year by 2030, leaning on commercial partners to speed satellite deployment while tackling bottlenecks in launch ranges, airspace, permitting and reentry facilities. The plan does not guarantee funding but sets a government‑wide path to accelerate civilian and national-security payloads amid a growing U.S.–China space competition.

via Fox News|
#aerospace#airspace#national-security
Starlink Tops 11,000 Satellites, Accounting for About Two-Thirds of All Active Spacecraft
technology4 days ago

Starlink Tops 11,000 Satellites, Accounting for About Two-Thirds of All Active Spacecraft

SpaceX’s Starlink network pushed past 11,000 satellites on 19 August 2026, roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft. Counts depend on definitions (in orbit vs. operational vs. launched) and cataloging methods, but the milestone marks a major concentration of space assets in low Earth orbit and signals ongoing launches to refresh and expand the network amid increasing traffic and regulatory considerations.

via Space Daily|
#low-earth-orbit#orbital-congestion#satellites
Alumina from Reentering Satellites Could Alter Ozone Recovery
science5 days ago

Alumina from Reentering Satellites Could Alter Ozone Recovery

Aluminium oxide from satellite reentries may catalyze chlorine-driven ozone-depletion chemistry in the stratosphere, potentially complicating the ozone layer’s recovery. Model results are uncertain: near-term impacts could be small, but extensive reentry under future mega-constellations might add substantial alumina to the upper atmosphere. NOAA measurements confirm spacecraft metals in stratospheric particles, yet there is no confirmed satellite-driven reversal of ozone recovery. The overall effect depends on particle size, vaporization fraction, coatings, transport, and future launch patterns, underscoring the need for more data.

via Space Daily|
#alumina#chlorine#ozone
NASA's Geoid Visualization Turns Earth into a Lumpy Potato
science8 days ago

NASA's Geoid Visualization Turns Earth into a Lumpy Potato

NASA released a visualization of the geoid—the imaginary sea level defined by gravity and Earth's rotation—showing Earth as a potato‑like shape caused by uneven mass distribution. The geoid is not the planet's physical surface; the display exaggerates height variations 10,000× to illustrate how gravity varies across the globe. Real differences reach about 85 meters above the reference near Iceland and 106 meters below it south of India, with a total range around 191 meters. The visualization combines more than a billion observations from 19 satellites over 15 years (e.g., GRACE and GOCE) and helps researchers study gravity changes for mapping, surveying, and navigation.

via Euronews.com|
#earth#geoid#gravity
Rocket Lab hits orbit milestone with eight Globalstar satellites under a $143M deal
technology8 days ago

Rocket Lab hits orbit milestone with eight Globalstar satellites under a $143M deal

Rocket Lab said its first eight 500-kg satellites built for Globalstar under a $143 million contract with MDA Space have reached orbit, are powering on, and undergoing commissioning as the 17-satellite program advances. Launched from Cape Canaveral, the milestone highlights Rocket Lab’s end-to-end, vertically integrated approach and supports its growing defense work, including SDA contracts that have pushed total awards well over $1.3 billion; RKLB shares rose about 1% after hours following the news.

via Yahoo Finance|
#aerospace#globalstar#rklb
Starlink’s Dominance Grows: SpaceX Controls About Two-Thirds of Active Orbits by 2026
science9 days ago

Starlink’s Dominance Grows: SpaceX Controls About Two-Thirds of Active Orbits by 2026

Look Up’s June 2026 space index counted 15,711 active satellites, with 10,365 of them belonging to SpaceX’s Starlink (about 66%), signaling an eightfold rise since 2019. The piece emphasizes that ‘active’ counts are snapshot-based and vary by catalog, noting more than 33,000 objects are tracked overall. The rise reflects a shift to industrial-scale, concentrated low-Earth-orbit usage, giving Starlink outsized influence on launch demand and orbital norms, while automation (ESA’s CREAM) seeks to streamline collision avoidance as fleets grow.

via Space Daily|
#low-earth-orbit#orbital-traffic#satellites
Space Mirrors May Light Up Nights, Prompting Eye-Safety Alarm
science13 days ago

Space Mirrors May Light Up Nights, Prompting Eye-Safety Alarm

A California startup, Reflect Orbital, won FCC approval to test Earendil-1, a prototype satellite that deploys a large reflector to bounce sunlight onto a designated area up to about 3 miles (5 km) across. While the project aims to demonstrate space-based lighting, experts warn the reflected light could damage eyes and disrupt astronomical viewing, prompting environmental groups to call for transparency and environmental review before any broader deployment.

via Gizmodo|
#astronomy#eye-safety#night-sky
Orbiting Sunlight on Demand: Space Mirrors Threaten Skies and Science
science15 days ago

Orbiting Sunlight on Demand: Space Mirrors Threaten Skies and Science

Reflect Orbital plans an initial test of an 18-square-meter space mirror and aims for up to 50,000 such satellites to beam sunlight to Earth for energy, agriculture, or emergency lighting. While offering potential benefits, astronomers warn that the resulting skyglow could disrupt ground-based astronomy, pose eye-safety risks to amateur observers, and expose gaps in regulation, raising concerns that tens of thousands of bright mirrors could severely impair the night sky unless safeguards are proven and enforced.

via The Verge|
#astronomy#light-pollution#regulation
EU Unveils IRIS²: A Sovereign Satellite Network for Secure, Independent EU Communications
world16 days ago

EU Unveils IRIS²: A Sovereign Satellite Network for Secure, Independent EU Communications

The European Union has approved a public-private plan to launch IRIS², a sovereign satellite constellation designed to provide redundant, secure communications for EU governments and militaries. Starting in 2029, the system will add 66 satellites for a total of 348 (330 in low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit), led by the SpaceRISE consortium (SES, Eutelsat, Hispasat) and funded by the EU and member states, with Spain, Poland, and Hungary taking the lead. While initially a relatively small service focused on backup and resilience, the program aims to reduce reliance on U.S. operators like SpaceX and to build Europe’s own space capabilities, with commercial access possible but public/defense priority.

via Jalopnik|
#eu#independent-communications#iris2
SpaceX lofts 24 Starlink satellites from California
science17 days ago

SpaceX lofts 24 Starlink satellites from California

SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Aug. 8, 2026, at 12:35 p.m. EDT aboard a Falcon 9. The booster’s first stage landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, while the upper stage deployed all 24 satellites roughly 61 minutes later. This was the 92nd Falcon 9 liftoff of 2026 and the 71st Starlink mission, part of SpaceX’s effort to build the world’s largest satellite network, now numbering over 10,900 active satellites.

via Space|
#falcon-9#satellites#science
EU expands IRIS² constellation to 348 satellites, costs soar to €15.6B
space-policy18 days ago

EU expands IRIS² constellation to 348 satellites, costs soar to €15.6B

Europe’s IRIS² secure-connectivity constellation will grow to at least 348 satellites with total costs estimated at €15.6 billion, up from prior plans. The expansion adds 66 high-LEO satellites while the MEO shell remains at 18 and the low-LEO segment remains led by Hispasat. Funding will come from the SpaceRISE consortium (about €4B) and the EU/ESA (about €11.6B), with launches expected to begin in 2029. The upgrade is aimed at boosting secure government capacity inside the EU by around 60% and by 54% outside the EU, delivering a faster-to-market system for defense, security and public-safety services.

via spacenews.com|
#eu-defense#europe#funding
Mysterious Core Reversal: Eastward Flow Detected Beneath the Pacific
science18 days ago

Mysterious Core Reversal: Eastward Flow Detected Beneath the Pacific

Researchers using ESA Swarm and CryoSat data have traced a dramatic shift in a broad region of molten iron beneath the equatorial Pacific from westward to eastward flow around 2010, challenging the view of a stable outer-core circulation and potentially linking to inner-core changes; the eastward flow has weakened since 2020, and scientists will monitor to determine if this is a temporary fluctuation, part of a cycle, or a new long-term state, with implications for Earth's magnetic field generation (the geodynamo).

via ScienceDaily|
#earth-science#geomagnetism#geophysics