Today Rocket Labs is counting down to launch a DARPA called Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) that will test technologies for deployable antennas. Once in orbit, R3D2 will deploy a Kapton membrane that will expand to a diameter of 2.25 meters to demonstrate the ability to small satellites to carry large deployable antennas …
United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched a Delta IV Heavy on January 19, 2019. It was their 132nd successful launch. The launch was NROL-71. The rocket was probably carrying a large spy satellite for the US National Reconnaisance Office (NRO). The Heavy configuration of the Delta IV can put 28,370kg into Low Earth Orbit or …
Getting satellite data back to Earth is still more difficult than it should be. Large-scale satellite operators often build and run their own ground stations at a cost of up to one million dollars or more each; smaller operators enter into inflexible long-term contracts to make use of existing ground stations. Amazon will make space …
The US Missile Defense Agency had a request for “Develop the enabling technologies required to field an operational exo-atmospheric Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) system”. Neutral beam accelerator technology was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A prototype neutral hydrogen beam weapon was launched aboard a suborbital sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range in July …
Kymeta is delivering the only commercially-available, flat-panel, electronically-steered satellite terminal. The technology is lighter weight and uses far less power than other technological alternatives. The Terminals can weigh 21 kilograms which is about one-third of the weight of alternatives. In the future (perhaps a few years) this technology could enable low-cost reception from the future …
An unmanned Airbus drone aircraft, a 75 kilogram Zephyr, flew for almost 26 days. It will offer local satellite-like services and runs on solar power. It flies in the stratosphere at an average altitude of 70,000 feet and has a wingspan of 25 meters. Zephyr is a High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) that fills a capability …
The Planetary Resources Arkyd-6 spacecraft was launched and deployed in space. This 6U cubesat is packed with power including 17 computing elements. The Arkyd-6 spacecraft has successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre onboard PSLV-C40 and has entered into its target orbit. The Arkyd-6 will validate water detection technology and cost-saving design methodology. The …
Japan Tsubame, Super Low Altitude Test Satellite, is a JAXA satellite intended to demonstrate operations in very low Earth orbit (below 200 km), using ion engines to cancel out aerodynamic drag and equipped with sensors to determine atomic oxygen density, an exposure facility to measure material degradation in the 200 km orbit, and a small …
OneWeb is launching a global 2.5 gigabit per second satellite internet service by 2021. OneWeb received permission from the FCC in June to deploy a global network of 720 low-Earth orbit satellites using the Ka (20/30 GHz) and Ku (11/14 GHz) frequency bands. Earlier in 2017, OneWeb started building a satellite manufacturing factory which will …
The FCC will vote to get rid of Net Neutrality in December, 2017 and then there will be lawsuits to delay implementation. Past behavior of Comcast, AT&T and Verizon will mean that they will use pricing to raise the cost of content competitors like Netflix. Consumers who already pay for say $50 for a Comcast …
Spacex had a successful launch and successful deployment of FORMOSAT-5 to low-Earth orbit confirmed. Successful deployment of FORMOSAT-5 to low-Earth orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/PiB7r3Zk4F — SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 24, 2017 Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science …