Tag: Satellite
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5G or not 5G? Boeing joins the battle over broadband satellite spectrum
An artist’s conception shows a constellation of satellites in orbit. (Credit: OneWeb) The Boeing Co. is laying out plans to put more than 1,000 satellites into low Earth orbit to provide broadband internet service – and it wants to make sure the Federal Communications Commission preserves the spectrum they’d use. Boeing thus joins a debate…
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Spaceflight raises $18 million and acquires OpenWhere to build satellite data portal
One of BlackSky’s Pathfinder satellites undergoes final integration. (Credit: BlackSky) Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries is moving ahead on two fronts to build an online portal for satellite imagery: It has secured $18 million in new venture capital, and is acquiring a Virginia-based company called OpenWhere to create the software platform for distributing the images. “It’s all about…
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SpaceX speaks up for its Seattle satellite operation after months of low-key work
SpaceX’s Redmond office is the center for its satellite operations. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota) SpaceX has provided a rare update on its Seattle-centric plans to develop a multibillion-dollar Internet satellite network, saying that the work is now at a “critical stage.” That assessment is part of the company’s argument against giving away the bandwidth…
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Planetary Resources’ asteroid miners focus on Earth observation with $21 million in new funding
Planetary Resources’ Chris Lewicki and GeekWire’s Alan Boyle mug for the camera behind two Arkyd 6 satellites being tested for flight in Planetary Resources’ clean room. (GeekWire photo by Kevin Lisota) REDMOND, Wash. – Planetary Resources was founded as an asteroid mining company, but a fresh infusion of $21.1 million in investment puts the emphasis on…
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Satellites reveal just how bad the wildfires are in Alberta’s oil-sand country
A color-coded image from the Landsat 8 satellite’s Operational Land Imager shows fire and smoke in the vicinity of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. The red spots indicate active fires. Smoke appears white, and burned areas appear brown. The image was acquired May 5. (Credit: NASA / USGS) Canadian firefighters are still struggling to get…
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Woohoo! SpaceX Falcon 9 booster makes nighttime landing at sea after launching JCSAT-14 satellite
Hours after its nighttime landing, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage stands tall on an autonomous spaceport drone ship nicknamed “Of Course I Still Love You.” (Credit: SpaceX) SpaceX increased the degree of difficulty for tonight’s Falcon 9 rocket landing attempt at sea after launching a Japanese satellite into a super-high orbit – but the feat…
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Wayward boat gets blamed after SpaceX aborts Falcon 9 rocket liftoff at last second
A launch pad camera shows the Falcon 9 rocket’s engines flaring during a last-second shutdown. (Credit: SpaceX via YouTube) A wayward boat and a load of liquid oxygen that got too warm forced SpaceX to abort what might have been a successful launch of the SES-9 telecommunication satellite today, just as the engines were firing up. The…
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SpaceX holds up on SES-9 satellite launch (and rocket landing) just before liftoff
A SpaceX Falcon 9 sits on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Credit: SpaceX) For the second day in a row, SpaceX scrubbed the launch of the SES-9 telecommunications satellite as well as the Falcon 9 rocket landing attempt that was due to follow. The abort came with just 1 minute and…
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Spaceflight’s online price list makes it easier for the feds to buy a launch
Spaceflight’s SHERPA carrier, shown in this artwork, is set to deploy 87 satellites. (Credit: Spaceflight) Federal agencies can now buy a satellite launch as easily as they buy pencils, thanks to a new arrangement with Seattle-based Spaceflight. OK, maybe it’s not quite that easy. You still have to get the go-ahead to put something into orbit, whether…
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SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell signals go-slow approach for Seattle satellite plan
During SpaceX’s Seattle announcement about an Internet satellite network, the company’s logo lit up Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center. (GeekWire photo) It’s been nine months since SpaceX’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, announced plans to put up a constellation of 4,000 satellites to provide global Internet service, and scores of employees are being hired in the Seattle area to…