Orbit

An astronomer’s lament: Satellite megaconstellations are ruining space exploration

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 11, 2024

Since 2019, I’ve watched my unencumbered enthusiasm for rocket launches soften to tepid interest, and finally sour to outright dread.

Key Points: 
  • Since 2019, I’ve watched my unencumbered enthusiasm for rocket launches soften to tepid interest, and finally sour to outright dread.
  • The final nail in the coffin for my love of rocket launches came with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite megaconstellations.
  • Read more:
    Soon, 1 out of every 15 points of light in the sky will be a satellite

Crowded orbits

  • SpaceX has launched thousands of their own Starlink communication satellites, as well as hundreds of satellites for their direct competitors.
  • As an astronomer, I’m painfully aware of what these thousands of new satellites have done to the night sky worldwide.
  • Starlink satellites are the most numerous and occupy some of the lowest orbits, so they make up the majority of the satellites seen in the sky.

Lost information and knowledge

  • Astronomers are the canaries in the coal mine for this rapidly expanding experiment in orbit: we see these satellites increasingly affecting our research every day.
  • I have watched over the past five years as satellite streaks in my own research images from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have changed from an unusual occurrence to lost data in nearly every image.
  • Astronomy is the only way to learn about the universe, the overwhelming majority of which can never be explored by humans.
  • There are a handful of telescopes in Low Earth Orbit that also have to contend with light pollution from Starlink and other megaconstellations.

Government regulation needed

  • Regulation on the number of satellites in orbit would force corporations toward technology improvements and service models that use fewer satellites, keeping orbit usable for future generations.
  • Read more:
    It's not too late to save the night sky, but governments need to get serious about protecting it

    Ask your government representatives to support satellite regulation, and expansion of rural broadband.

  • With proper regulation, our oldest form of space exploration can continue.


Samantha Lawler receives research funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

New Mobile Satellite Industry Association to Advance Global Connectivity for Direct-to-Device and IoT Services

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), Terrestar Solutions , Ligado Networks , Omnispace and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat) today announced the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA).

Key Points: 
  • Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), Terrestar Solutions , Ligado Networks , Omnispace and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat) today announced the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA).
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240206302925/en/
    Advancing the development of direct-to-device (D2D) and IoT connectivity through an ecosystem of Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) providers.
  • The non-profit industry association intends to align with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards to extend terrestrial mobile coverage for both Mobile Network Operator (MNO) and Over-the-Top (OTT) internet services.
  • “Integrating satellite connectivity into consumer mobile devices is a transformative opportunity for the satellite industry.

Former JAXA Astronaut Dr. Soichi Noguchi Joins Voyager Space Advisory Board

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

DENVER, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Voyager Space (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced Dr. Soichi Noguchi has been appointed to the company's advisory board.

Key Points: 
  • DENVER, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Voyager Space (Voyager), a global leader in space exploration, today announced Dr. Soichi Noguchi has been appointed to the company's advisory board.
  • Dr. Noguchi is an aeronautical engineer, former Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, and the first astronaut in the world to accomplish three different methods of Earth entry from space.
  • His addition to the Voyager advisory board is another essential step in broadening the company's space exploration efforts and building a better future for humanity.
  • "Dr. Noguchi joins our team at a pivotal time, and we are glad to have him on board."

Flourish Products Achieve All Star Rankings in Annual Advisor Industry T3 / Inside Information Software Survey  Flourish Cash and Flourish Crypto

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

In the Automated Cash Management category, Flourish Cash secured a rare 9.02 rating, while Flourish Crypto earned 8.57 in the Cryptocurrency/Alts category.

Key Points: 
  • In the Automated Cash Management category, Flourish Cash secured a rare 9.02 rating, while Flourish Crypto earned 8.57 in the Cryptocurrency/Alts category.
  • The survey also revealed that of the 130 surveyed advisory firms considering a cash management solution, Flourish Cash is their top choice.
  • Both Flourish Cash and Flourish Crypto were recognized as RIA favorites in last year’s Bob Veres’ 2023 T3/Inside Information Advisor Software Survey .
  • To read the full 2024 T3 / Inside Information Software Survey, visit: https://t3technologyhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-T3_Inside-In... .

A new generation of spaceplanes is taking advantage of the latest in technology

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

However, the US space agency’s replacement for this vehicle, Orion, returned to the conical capsule design familiar from the Apollo missions.

Key Points: 
  • However, the US space agency’s replacement for this vehicle, Orion, returned to the conical capsule design familiar from the Apollo missions.
  • This was because Nasa intended that this newer craft be used for exploring targets in deep space, such as the Moon.
  • A runway also allows ground support crews and infrastructure to be ready at the landing location.

Cost and complexity


But spaceplanes are more complex and heavier than an equivalent capsule. The winged body shape poses a particular challenge for designing thermal protection systems (TPS) – the heat-resistant materials that protect the craft from scorching temperatures on re-entry. These additional costs mean it’s impractical to design a spaceplane for a single flight. They need to be used again and again to be viable.

  • A military spaceplane project called Dyna-Soar was started in the US in 1957, then cancelled just after construction started.
  • Other space agencies invested in the 1980s and 1990s, in Europe, with the Hermes spaceplane, and Japan, with the HOPE vehicle.
  • Both programmes were cancelled in large part because of cost.

Feeling the heat

  • Spaceplanes have specific requirements for the final part of their journeys – as they return from space.
  • A blunt nose design (where the edge of the spacecraft is rounded) is an ideal shape because it reduces build-up of heat at the foremost part of the vehicle.
  • The space shuttle TPS included ceramic tiles that were especially heat resistant and a reinforced carbon-carbon matrix that was capable of withstanding temperatures as high as 2400°C.
  • This resulted from a piece of insulating foam flying off the shuttle’s external tank during Columbia’s launch and hitting the wing.

Current vehicles

  • Little information is available on China’s Shenlong, but the US military’s X-37B is better known.
  • The ability to return comparatively fragile cargo to the surface because of a softer landing is a key capability.

Future developments

  • However, concepts such as the Skylon vehicle are leading to technical developments that could eventually support development of an SSTO craft.
  • For the foreseeable future, spaceplanes look promising for the following reasons: new design techniques, improved materials for the TPS, advanced computer modelling and simulation tools for optimising different aspects of design and flight parameters and continuous improvements in propulsion systems.
  • Given that several governments, space agencies, and private companies worldwide are investing heavily in spaceplane research and development, we could see a future where flights with these vehicles become routine.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

NASA Launches New Climate Mission to Study Ocean, Atmosphere

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

NASA confirmed signal acquisition from the satellite about five minutes after launch, and the spacecraft is performing as expected.

Key Points: 
  • NASA confirmed signal acquisition from the satellite about five minutes after launch, and the spacecraft is performing as expected.
  • "Missions like this are supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's climate agenda and helping us answer urgent questions about our changing climate."
  • From hundreds of miles above Earth, the PACE mission will study the impact of tiny, often invisible things: microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air.
  • The PACE mission is managed by NASA Goddard, which also built and tested the spacecraft and the ocean color instrument.

Ball Aerospace Ships Methane Monitoring Satellite for Launch

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

BROOMFIELD, Colo., Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace successfully delivered the MethaneSAT satellite to Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California this week, where it is scheduled to launch next month.

Key Points: 
  • BROOMFIELD, Colo., Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace successfully delivered the MethaneSAT satellite to Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California this week, where it is scheduled to launch next month.
  • Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas and the second leading driver of climate warming, trailing only carbon dioxide, according to NASA .
  • Once on orbit, the Ball-designed MethaneSAT instrument — composed of two advanced spectrometers — will locate and quantify sources of methane emissions around the world.
  • Ball Aerospace will also provide launch support and commissioning services for the mission.

Digital Locations Announces Satenna™ – a Satellite to Smartphone Antenna Breakthrough

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

SANTA BARBARA, CA, Feb. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Locations, Inc. (OTCMKTS:DLOC), the developer of SatennaTM, a breakthrough technology that will enable delivery of high-speed Internet from satellites directly to smartphones all over the world, today announced that its technology team at Florida International University (FIU) is developing a solution that only requires modifications on the smartphone side. This breakthrough can potentially eliminate the need to make costly and time-consuming modifications to existing, as well as future satellites.

Key Points: 
  • This breakthrough can potentially eliminate the need to make costly and time-consuming modifications to existing, as well as future satellites.
  • Leveraging decades of experience in antenna miniaturization and satellite communications, the FIU team is working with Digital Locations to develop a device-side only smart antenna solution, to enable high-speed Internet directly from satellites to smartphones anywhere in the world.
  • But current smartphone antennas are not designed for high-speed Internet applications, such as streaming Netflix from satellites moving at 17,000 mph.
  • Dr. Elias Alwan, lead researcher at Florida International University, commented, “The FIU team is developing a novel antenna solution that can dynamically and intelligently adjust for satellite positions, phase angle, beam forming and various satellite frequencies and user conditions.”
    “This is a major breakthrough,” said Rich Berliner, CEO of Digital Locations.

Slam Corp. and Lynk Global, Inc. Announce Definitive Business Combination Agreement

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 5, 2024

(“Lynk”), the world’s leading satellite-direct-to-standard-phone (“sat2phone”) telecoms provider, and Slam Corp. (NASDAQ: SLAM), a special purpose acquisition company (“Slam”), today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) under which Slam will combine with Lynk.

Key Points: 
  • (“Lynk”), the world’s leading satellite-direct-to-standard-phone (“sat2phone”) telecoms provider, and Slam Corp. (NASDAQ: SLAM), a special purpose acquisition company (“Slam”), today announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) under which Slam will combine with Lynk.
  • Charles Miller added, “Through our proposed business combination with Slam, we believe Lynk will be well-positioned to raise capital through several avenues.
  • Under the terms of the business combination agreement, the transaction values Lynk at a pre-money enterprise value of $800 million.
  • Additional information about the proposed Business Combination will be described in the Registration Statement relating to the proposed Business Combination, which Slam and Lynk Global Holdings, Inc. (“Topco”), a holding company formed to complete the Business Combination, will file with the SEC.

NASA is looking for commercial Mars missions. Do people still want to go to Mars?

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 5, 2024

It is also an interesting place to research – a legitimate candidate for us to find some form of alien life.

Key Points: 
  • It is also an interesting place to research – a legitimate candidate for us to find some form of alien life.
  • Since the 1960s, Mars has been a popular destination for space missions.
  • Now, for the first time, NASA has invited the private sector to submit proposals on commercial Mars missions.

Modern exploration of Mars


Since 1960, there have been 50 missions with scientific and technical objectives related to Mars. Thirty-one of these have been deemed successful, which is not a bad strike rate. There have also been plenty of spectacular failures, like the crash of the Schiaparelli lander in 2016.

  • These missions have returned a wealth of information about Mars – its atmosphere, orbit, geology and more.
  • But such public interest shows that Mars truly occupies our imaginations.


Read more:
Our long fascination with the journey to Mars

A better way to do business?

  • For decades, NASA and other space agencies around the world have spent large sums on in-house planning, development, prototyping and production for space missions.
  • In the 2020s, the technologies that enable and support space exploration are increasingly being developed in the commercial world.
  • Read more:
    All-UK astronaut mission shows that private enterprise is vital to the future of space exploration

Pros and cons

  • Likely the bigger positive effect will be the substantial stimulus to the commercial sector.
  • There is a good history of this from the development of technologies for space and from mega-science projects more generally.
  • Read more:
    Humans are going back to the Moon to stay, but when that will be is becoming less clear

But should humans go to Mars?

  • The number of books, songs, TV shows and movies about Mars is enormous, containing some great (and not so great) art.
  • Should humans go to Mars?
  • There will always be some cross-section of society wanting to live on Mars.
  • Some will argue that before humans become interplanetary and start to “mess up” another planet, we should make sure Earth is looked after.


Steven Tingay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.