India plans to launch over 50 spy satellites and add night-time imaging to enhance its national security capabilities after a border conflict last year with Pakistan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/21/asia-pacific/india-space-surveillance-border/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #india #satellites #surveillance #pakistan
Mre. Dartigen [maker mode]
boosted
Sun releases the largest solar radiation storm ‘in over 20 years,’ forecasters say
By Ashley Strickland, January 19, 2026
"Powerful solar activity released by the sun is heading for Earth and it’s likely to create dazzling auroral displays in unexpected areas Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. It could also disrupt #satellite-based communications and #GPS accuracy.
"A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, is being tracked by the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or #SWPC.
" 'An #S4 severe #SolarRadiation storm is now in progress - this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years,' SWPC shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.' "
Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/science/largest-solar-radiation-storm-auroras
#SolarFlare #GeomagneticStorm #Satellites #KesslerSyndrome? #Starlink
Sun releases the largest solar radiation storm ‘in over 20 years,’ forecasters say
By Ashley Strickland, January 19, 2026
"Powerful solar activity released by the sun is heading for Earth and it’s likely to create dazzling auroral displays in unexpected areas Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. It could also disrupt #satellite-based communications and #GPS accuracy.
"A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, is being tracked by the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or #SWPC.
" 'An #S4 severe #SolarRadiation storm is now in progress - this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years,' SWPC shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.' "
Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/science/largest-solar-radiation-storm-auroras
#SolarFlare #GeomagneticStorm #Satellites #KesslerSyndrome? #Starlink
SpaceX gets FCC permission to launch another 7,500 Starlink satellites
Including previous approvals, Starlink can now deploy 15,000 Gen2 satellites.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/spacex-gets-fcc-permission-to-launch-another-7500-starlink-satellites/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
RE: https://mastodon.social/@arstechnica/115868067425414674
#SpaceX is authorized to construct, deploy, and operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 #Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000 #satellites 🛰️
gittaca
boosted
Did I mention I'm taking bets on when we'll see the first event that triggers Kessler Syndrome? 🤪
Western intelligence suspects Russia is developing new weapon to target Musk's Starlink satellites
Intelligence findings seen by The Associated Press say the weapon could release pellets to disable multiple satellites.
Did I mention I'm taking bets on when we'll see the first event that triggers Kessler Syndrome? 🤪
Western intelligence suspects Russia is developing new weapon to target Musk's Starlink satellites
Intelligence findings seen by The Associated Press say the weapon could release pellets to disable multiple satellites.
Japan’s third attempt at putting its Michibiki No. 5 satellite into orbit ended in failure after the second-stage engine of the H3 rocket carrying it stopped burning earlier than scheduled. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/22/japan/science-health/h3-rocket-launch-fails/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sciencehealth #jaxa #rockets #michibiki #satellites #space
Luke Drury
and 1 other
boosted
An important white paper to read for anyone interested in how large satellite constellations affect #RadioAstronomy: "Quiet Skies Report: A Primer on Protecting Radio Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Mega-Constellations" by Greg Hellbourg (CalTech)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00941
It's a very good introduction to the subject that gives a 30,000-foot view of the problem.
Japan’s space agency has called off the launch of its eighth H3 rocket, which is carrying the Michibiki No. 5 satellite, following an emergency shutdown that took place moments before takeoff. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/17/japan/jaxa-launch-failure/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #jaxa #michibiki #rockets #kagoshima #satellites #space
An important white paper to read for anyone interested in how large satellite constellations affect #RadioAstronomy: "Quiet Skies Report: A Primer on Protecting Radio Astronomy in the Age of Satellite Mega-Constellations" by Greg Hellbourg (CalTech)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00941
It's a very good introduction to the subject that gives a 30,000-foot view of the problem.
Prof. Sam Lawler
boosted
A @Nature paper published today argues that "Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09759-5
Here's the punchline of the paper: satellites could be a problem even for orbiting space telescopes, but the impact depends on how many are launched. "Our results show that if these constellations are completed, one-third of the images of the Hubble Space Telescope will be contaminated, while the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), ARRAKIHS (Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys) and Xuntian space telescopes will have more than 96% of +0.3 their exposures affected, with 5.6^+0.3_−0.3, 69^+21_−22, and 92^+11_−10 trails per exposure, respectively, with an average surface brightness of μ = 19 ± 2 mag arcsec−2."
hypebot
boosted
"Datacenters in space are a terrible, horrible, no good idea."
https://taranis.ie/datacenters-in-space-are-a-terrible-horrible-no-good-idea/
#tech #technology #BigTech #space #satellites #data #server #computing #CloudComputing #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #LLM #LLMs #MachineLearning #GenAI #generativeAI #AISlop #Meta #Google #OpenAI #ChatGPT
A @Nature paper published today argues that "Satellite megaconstellations will threaten space-based astronomy" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09759-5
Here's the punchline of the paper: satellites could be a problem even for orbiting space telescopes, but the impact depends on how many are launched. "Our results show that if these constellations are completed, one-third of the images of the Hubble Space Telescope will be contaminated, while the SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), ARRAKIHS (Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys) and Xuntian space telescopes will have more than 96% of +0.3 their exposures affected, with 5.6^+0.3_−0.3, 69^+21_−22, and 92^+11_−10 trails per exposure, respectively, with an average surface brightness of μ = 19 ± 2 mag arcsec−2."
"Datacenters in space are a terrible, horrible, no good idea."
https://taranis.ie/datacenters-in-space-are-a-terrible-horrible-no-good-idea/
#tech #technology #BigTech #space #satellites #data #server #computing #CloudComputing #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #LLM #LLMs #MachineLearning #GenAI #generativeAI #AISlop #Meta #Google #OpenAI #ChatGPT
Prof. Sam Lawler
boosted
#Satellites in Congressional action today.
The (reintroduced) Dark And Quiet Skies Act text is here: https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Dark-and-Quiet-Skies-Act-119th-Congress.pdf
#Space #SpaceEnvironment #DarkAndQuietSkies #Congress #UnitedStates
#Satellites in Congressional action today.
The (reintroduced) Dark And Quiet Skies Act text is here: https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Dark-and-Quiet-Skies-Act-119th-Congress.pdf
#Space #SpaceEnvironment #DarkAndQuietSkies #Congress #UnitedStates
Both Butler & Lopez Lang said having accurate #forecasts for #PolarVortex events can help make 7- to 10-day forecasts better, which can be beneficial for decision-making.
…As impactful as these polar vortex events are, scientists are losing some of their eyes on this layer of the atmosphere, Lopez Lang said.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
#Satellites are crucial to observing the stratosphere & making predictions about sudden stratospheric warming events, she said, & some of that #data is blinking out as satellites age & #NOAA makes #budget & program decisions that affect the availability of current & future measurements. She cited some newly missing data from polar-orbiting satellites as an example.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #PolarVortex #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NationalGuard
natacha 🍉
and 1 other
boosted
This is an amazing app that allows you to see (almost) live all the #satellites and #debris (in LEO*) that are in #orbit above our heads.
You can pick one #satellite and get many info, including its orbit.
yeah, it's completely crowded, but we keep launching more and more #rockets 🚀 and much more satellites, like if our ressources were unlimited.
*LEO: low-Earth orbit (~300km up to 2000km)
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