Tag: Satellite
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Why net neutrality’s peril raises the stakes for future satellite broadband options
An artist’s conception shows a constellation of satellites in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration) The Federal Communication Commission’s plan to start rolling back regulations on net neutrality comes as bad news for streaming video providers like Amazon and Netflix, and potentially for consumers as well, but it could also bring more attention to an emerging avenue for…
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Night launch sends next-gen JPSS-1 weather satellite (and more) into orbit
A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket sends the JPSS-1 satellite into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (ULA Photo) The first in a series of four next-generation weather satellites, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 or JPSS-1, is in orbit after a twice-delayed liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.…
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Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 prototype imaging satellite has left the building
Workers prepare Planetary Resources’ Arkyd-6 technology demonstrator satellite for shipment at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (Planetary Resources via YouTube) Planetary Resources has been working on its Arkyd-6 imaging satellite for years, and today the company reported that the printer-sized spacecraft has finally begun its journey to an Indian launch pad. Arkyd-6 is considered…
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Why data analytics is becoming the next frontier for the commercial space industry
BlackSky’s imagery platform incorporates views from multiple satellites to help energy companies monitor oil and gas storage sites. (BlackSky / Spaceflight Industries) Thanks to incredibly shrinking satellites and launch costs, thousands of satellites are sending down streams of data about the state of our planet. But how much effort is going into making sense of…
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SpaceX seeks FCC approval to test satellite communications system in Seattle area
SpaceX’s Redmond office is the center for its satellite operations. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota) SpaceX has filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to begin ground testing of a satellite communications system between its facilities in Redmond, Wash., as early as this month. Redmond is the base of operations for SpaceX’s multibillion-dollar effort…
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Blastoff for 3-D printing: How Virgin Orbit harnesses high tech for low-cost rockets
Virgin Orbit’s Scott Macklin leads a tour of the company’s production facility in Long Beach, Calif. A full-size schematic of the LauncherOne rocket’s upper stage is painted on the floor. (GeekWire Photo / Chelsey Ballarte) LONG BEACH, Calif. — Virgin Orbit aims to blaze a trail on the final frontier, but in order to do that,…
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SpaceX launches a satellite and lands a Falcon 9 booster for second time this week
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the SES-11/Echostar-105 telecommunications satellite. (SpaceX via YouTube) Good things came in threes for SpaceX today: For the third time, it used a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket booster to send a payload into space, and had that booster…
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SpaceX launches 10 satellites for Iridium, then lands Falcon 9 booster at sea
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. (USAF via YouTube) SpaceX launched its third batch of 10 Iridium Next communications satellites from California today on a Falcon 9 rocket, then brought down the first-stage booster for a landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The launch was the…
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Spaceflight wins $5.5 million NASA contract for nanosatellite launch services
Spaceflight’s SHERPA carrier is capable of deploying scores of satellites. (Spaceflight Illustration) Seattle-based Spaceflight says it’s been awarded its first contract for launch and integration services from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The three-year deal is potentially worth $5.48 million. The NASA contract calls for Spaceflight, a business unit of Spaceflight Industries, to provide launch…
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Blue Origin announces satellite launch deal with Thai telecom startup Mu Space
An artist’s conception shows the New Glenn rocket during ascent. (Blue Origin Photo) Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, announced yet another agreement to launch a telecommunications satellite with its next-generation New Glenn rocket in the 2020s. The latest customer is Mu Space Corp., a Thai startup that unveiled its…