In 2026, SpaceX will be launching many of the larger V3 Starlink satellites from the reusable Starship. Dummy version of the V3 Starlink were launched on SpaceX Starship flight 10 and flight 11. Starlink V3’s 60 meter span is like a blue whale. AST Space Mobile Block 2’s array rivals a tennis court. Brian WangBrian …
Planet is launching Owl, their next-generation monitoring fleet. They will have a technical demonstration slated for launch late 2026. The Owl fleet moves into production and launch over the following years. Owl will be designed to deliver frequent, best-in-class imagery faster, enabling customers to receive imagery-enabled insights within as little as one hour of capture. …
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is developing a space-based cellular broadband network that provides direct-to-cellphone connectivity worldwide. This would eliminate deadzones without requiring special antennas like existing satellite phones and will work on standard smartphones. Their satellites, known as BlueBird, are designed to deliver 4G/5G service from low Earth orbit (LEO) by beaming signals directly to unmodified …
NASA is working on photophoretic levitation to uase light-induced heating to create a force that lifts and propels specially designed structures in rarefied atmospheres, such as Earth’s mesosphere (approximately 50-80 km altitude). This involves metamaterial plates or 3D hollow geometries (e.g., cones, spheres, or rocket shapes) with porous sidewalls that act as Knudsen pumps: light …
SpaceX Starship 10 should launch today and they will try again to deploy dummy versions of Starlink Version 3 satellites. This could open up 5 times better cost to orbit even if the booster and the upper stage get lost after each payload is deployed. UPDATE: Live launch coverage will start in about two hours …
Aviation Week Joe Anselmo (Aviation Week’s editorial director), Garrett Reim (lead reporter), Irene Klotz (senior space editor), and Matthew Fulco (business editor) explores SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service as a juggernaut that has disrupted the space industry and geopolitics. Starlink has deployed over 9,000 satellites, serves 6 million users in 140 countries. It generates $15.5 billion …
According to Nielsen‘s measurement of televisions in the U.S. (mobile devices and other countries excluded), streaming was 44.8% while broadcast and cable viewing combined was 44.2% of all TV watched. This is the first time streaming has passed the total of broadcast and cable categories. Over the last four years streaming usage has increased 71% …
New Glenn’s second mission will take place NET (No earlier than) August 15th. They have chosen the name “Never Tell Me The Odds” for Tail 2. One of our key mission objectives will be to land and recover the booster. This will take a little bit of luck and a lot of excellent execution. Blue …
U.S. Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman clarified the Golden Dome is not a single mega-shield, but a network of systems built to counter advanced missile threats. The system will combine terrestrial, naval, airborne, and space-based sensors and interceptors, along with non-kinetic defenses like directed energy weapons and electronic warfare capabilities. Saltzman emphasized that decision-making …
There was experiments to test the performance of the different positioning frameworks with Starlink satellites before year 2024. The results showed meter level accuracy. The unprecedented results from these analyses show that, with an average of only three active Starlink satellites, a positioning solution with a 3D position estimation error of two meters can be …
SpaceX Starlink direct to cell tests do work with 500 enabled satellites. However, there are times where service can degrade to 5-7 minute delay. Perhaps only 300 of the 500 satellites are in position and fully active. There will be a need to increase satellites by the end the year for reliable voice and internet …