Satellites Tech

SpaceX’s Starship cleared to fly with larger ‘hazard zones.’

Image Credit: PixabayThe Federal Aviation Administration has approved SpaceX to conduct the ninth test flight of its Starship rocket, following two explosions earlier this year.On Thursday, the FAA announced it would expand hazard zones—temporary no-fly areas—both in the U.S. and abroad, based on updated safety data from SpaceX. Failures in Flights 7 and 8...

Asteroid Vesta may be a Leftover From an Early Planet

Credit: PixabayVesta, a large asteroid in our solar system, might be a fragment of an ancient planet shattered by a massive collision 4.5 billion years ago, according to research led by Seth Jacobson of Michigan State University and published in Nature Astronomy.Scientists are still fascinated by the origins of asteroid Vesta's formations.An asteroid that...

NASA Budget Cuts Scrap Missions, SLS, And A Space Station

Credit: PixabayNASA's newly released budget reveals a significant reduction in funding for the Orion spacecraft and the Lunar Gateway space station. The agency's total budget has dropped to $18.8 billion, marking a 24% cut of $6 billion. NASA’s budget shift reflects a realignment of resources, prioritizing crewed missions to the Moon and Mars over...

MEV-1 Makes History with First Commercial Satellite Undocking

Rendering of MEV-1 undockingNorthrop GrummanNorthrop Grumman has written a new chapter in the history of space exploration. Its Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1) successfully performed the first undocking between two commercial satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), marking the beginning of a new era for commercial space operations.Developed and operated by SpaceLogistics LLC, a...

High-speed Internet from Space to Your Cell Phone

Development of the BlueBird satellites at AST's Midland, Texas facilityAST SpaceMobileStarlink isn’t the only U.S. company working on direct satellite connectivity for cell phones. AST SpaceMobile has been developing this technology for several years. In fact, AST made history as the first company ever to make a "phone home" call from space. The company...

Ex-Student Competitor’s Journey to NASA Engineer

This picture shows Meredith Patterson when she was a first-year student at North Carolina State University. She's putting together the rocket used by the university's high-powered rocketry club for NASA's 2019 Student Launch. Patterson was part of the club and joined in the Student Launch for five years until she graduated. She then made...

NASA Altered Asteroid’s Shape with Hard Impact

This is likely the first and best image we'll ever get of Didymos and Dimorphos together like this.Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APLIn September 2022, NASA did a big test in space. They sent the DART mission to crash into an asteroid moon called Dimorphos, which orbits a bigger asteroid named Didymos. It was the...

SpaceX Starlink Satellites Make 25,000 Quick Moves in 6 Months, and More Challenges Are Coming!

"Starlink Satellites Do Cool Moves Over 50,000 Times to Stay Safe in Space!" credit: Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Starlink (SpaceX) Satellites Do Fancy Dance Moves to Stay Safe, But There's a Worrying Problem!SpaceX's Starlink satellites have been doing impressive maneuvers to avoid bumping into other spacecraft and space junk. In just six...

Russia Confirms Rescue of Stranded Cosmonauts With a Replacement Mission

Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft carrying the crew of Russian cosmonauts launched September, 2022. (NataliaKolesnikova/ AFP)Russia stated Wednesday that it will send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) coming month to bring home 3 astronauts whose planned return vehicle was damaged by a strike from a small meteoroid.The Russian space company, Roscosmos, made the...

Satellite Firms OneWeb and Eutelsat to Combine Operations

Eutelsat plans to expand beyond the TV market. Credit: EutelsatOneWeb, the London-based satellite firm that was once on the verge of bankruptcy and then partially saved by the British government, is to merge with Paris-headquartered Eutelsat.The French company (Eutelsat) already owned a 23% stake in the UK firm.As stated by the operators, the joint...