IN A NUTSHELL 🌞 Solar storms are causing SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to reenter Earth’s atmosphere sooner than planned. 🚀 The increased atmospheric drag from geomagnetic storms shortens the satellites’ lifespan by 10 to 12 days. ⚠️ A higher risk of satellite collisions emerges due to unpredictable drifts caused by solar activity. 🛰️ Managing a crowded orbit is crucial as more …
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2 new NASA satellites will track space weather to help keep us safe from solar storms
A new mission set to blast off for low-Earth orbit will study magnetic storms around the Earth and learn more about how they affect our atmosphere and satellites. NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or TRACERS for short, mission represents a pair of satellites that will fly in a sun-synchronous orbit — meaning they are always over the …
Read More »Friday night light: SpaceX launch from California sends two dozen new Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit
SpaceX added 24 new Starlink satellites to its orbital network on a Friday night (July 18) launch from California. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:52 p.m. local (11:52 p.m. EDT or 0352 GMT on July 19) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. At about nine minutes into the flight, the booster’s …
Read More »NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Reportedly Holding “Going Out of Business Sale” for Satellites
NASA scientists are furious. Fire Sale NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab is reportedly holding a “going out of business sale” for its satellites, NASA Watch reports. The list of for-sale assets includes several Earth-monitoring satellites that were once tasked with studying the environment, helping with hurricane prediction efforts, and measuring the effects of climate change. Most launched over the last 20 …
Read More »SpaceX launches 26 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from California
SpaceX sent 26 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Tuesday (July 15), after a launch from southern California. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:05 p.m. PDT (10:05 p.m. EDT or 0205 GMT July 18), escaping the fog and cloud cover blanketing Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The satellites (Group 15-2, according …
Read More »Amazon’s Kuiper satellites to get boost from rival SpaceX
Amazon’s race to challenge SpaceX in orbit is getting a helping hand from its chief competitor: SpaceX, which will launch the next batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites skyward on Wednesday. A flock of 24 Kuiper internet satellites will ride aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket before dawn. The mission, dubbed KF-01, has a 27-minute launch window that opens …
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