[ad_1] The first batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites has been orbiting Earth for about a week, and now SpaceX has released a status update on the mission. According to a spokesperson, “all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground stations.” The statement didn’t directly mention […]
Category: satellite
Elon Musk shows SpaceX’s first internet satellites ready for launch
[ad_1] Musk further noted that the launch timing was variable, but was “currently tracking” to May 15th (he also raised the possibility of a May 14th takeoff). He warned that “much will likely go wrong” on this first deployment, and that it would take six more similar launches to achieve “minor” broadband coverage, and twice […]
FCC clears SpaceX to fly internet satellites in lower orbit
[ad_1] Companies like OneWeb and Kepler Communications had objected to SpaceX’s request over concerns that Starlink would interfere with their own satellites, but the FCC didn’t believe the satellites would create “significant” interference. Regulators also didn’t find a significant risk of collisions in the new orbit, noting that each of the satellites would have thrusters […]
NASA’s TESS spacecraft finds its first Earth-sized exoplanet
[ad_1] This newly identified planet is the smallest world outside our solar system that TESS has spotted. And the spacecraft’s data shows HD21749c circles its star every 7.8 days, meaning it has a tight orbit that would lead to surface temperatures of up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. TESS has now found 10 planets smaller than […]
Rocket Lab’s Photon platform makes it easier to launch satellites
[ad_1] Photon can handle missions lasting as long as five years in low Earth orbit, with payloads up to 375lbs depending on the configuration and its flight path. Its communications aren’t exactly blazing fast at 512Kbps, but it can hold up to 1TB of data. You won’t have to wait too long to see Photon […]
NASA says satellite that India shot down may threaten the ISS
[ad_1] In the middle of an election on March 27, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the success of “Mission Shakti,” a missile test that destroyed one of the nation’s satellites. It’s the fourth country to have completed such a mission, after the US, Russia and China. India’s government wrote that the test was carried […]