Archive for the 'Space' Category
Starlink Engineer/Spokeswoman Confirms Optical Backhaul Operational on Two Satellites
September 3rd, 2020Wow. I thought that this capability was years away, even for testing. Nope. Via: CNBC: Tice also said that the company recently conducted a test to see if it can connect two satellites in orbit with what SpaceX calls “space lasers.” Also known as intersatellite links, the space lasers would imporve the Starlink network by […]
Amazon’s Project Kuiper Is More Than a Response to Starlink
August 18th, 2020Via: IEEE Spectrum: “With Amazon, it’s a whole different ballgame,” says Zac Manchester, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University. “The thing that makes Amazon different from SpaceX and OneWeb is they have so much other stuff going for them.” If Kuiper succeeds, Amazon can not only offer global satellite broadband access—it […]
SpaceX Starlink Beta Users Getting Download Speeds of 11 to 60Mbps
August 16th, 2020While these speeds are nowhere near the 1 Gbit/sec that had been mentioned with Starlink, this was already enough to cause me (someone who has struggled with rural Internet access since 2006) to go bug-eyed: Wow. Forget existing satellite based ISPs. They’re dead. And good riddance. *spit* But I do hope that other rural Internet […]
Pentagon Picks SpaceX and ULA to Remain Its Primary Launch Providers
August 7th, 2020Via: Space News: The Department of the Air Force announced Aug. 7 that incumbents United Launch Alliance and SpaceX have been selected to receive five-year contracts totaling $653 million to launch national security satellites for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. The companies beat Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman in the four-way competition known as […]
Starship SN5 150m Hop
August 5th, 2020One for your: You Don’t See That Everyday file folder. Via: SpaceX:
Crew Demo-2 Splashdown
August 2nd, 2020Via: SpaceX:
Amazon to Invest $10 Billion in Space-Based Internet System
July 31st, 2020No timetable. Via: AFP: Amazon says it will invest $10 billion for its planned space-based internet delivery system after winning US regulatory approval to deploy more than 3,000 low-orbit satellites. The US tech giant said on Thursday it is moving forward with its Project Kuiper, one of several systems planned to bring internet to customers […]
How to Fake an Alien Invasion
July 28th, 2020From 2015. Via: Corbett Report:
U.S. Says Russia Has Tested a Space-Based Anti-Satellite Weapon
July 23rd, 2020Via: Space.com: The U.S. Space Command announced Thursday (July 23) that it has evidence that Russia has tested a space-based anti-satellite weapon. On July 15, Russia “injected a new object into orbit” orbit from the Cosmos 2543 satellite and “conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon,” the U.S. Space Command (USSC) said an […]
FCC Approves SpaceX’s Starlink Router
July 15th, 2020Interestingly, we learn that the antenna is motorized and can self-orient: The network will be easy to set-up at home – “Starlink terminal has motors to self-orient for optimal view angle. No expert installer required. Just plug in & give it a clear view of the sky,” Musk said, “Can be in garden, on roof, […]
