Space

Laser and light communications news

Light communications is hot in news now. Here are few headlines: LiFi 802.11bb standard uses light for in-room data transmission up to 224GB/s https://www.cnx-software.com/2023/07/14/lifi-802-11bb-wifi-standard-uses-light-for-in-room-data-transmission-up-to-224gb-s/ The 802.11bb WiFi-like standard, also called LiFi, was ratified in June 2023. It enables data transmission up to 224GB/s at a few meters range within a room using light instead of

4G on the moon soon

Can terrestrial networks can meet the communications needs of future space missions? Maybe. Nokia is planning to launch 4G internet on the moon later this year, an executive for the company said. It will be used within Nasa’s Artemis 1 mission, which aims to establish a human presence on the moon again (last time was

James Webb telescope

The American space agency has achieved a major milestone in its preparation of the new James Webb Space Telescope. James Webb telescope mirror alignments has been finished, and the results are exceeding expectations. Still some work to go before actual science operation can start. NASA’s Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-reaches-alignment-milestone-optics-working-successfully James Webb:

Unusual aircraft GPS interference

Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, has issued a public announcement informing of an unusual spike in GPS interference near the country’s eastern border. According to reports, the interference isn’t limited to Finland but also affects Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and the broader Baltic region. This spoofing is relatively easy because the actual GPS signal is

Rocket hits the moon

Deep space tracking is hard and mistakes happen. It seems that SpaceX rocket does not yet get to hit the moon soon as earlier expected. Ironically, it now appears that the off the course object comes from a Chinese mission to return a sample of lunar rock to help scientists understand why the Moon is

James Webb Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope is a space telescope designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led development of the telescope[8] in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The good space news has been that the the James Webb Space Telescope is

Space weather issues to satellites

Space had too harsh weather conditions for recent Starlink communications satellite update. 40 Starlink satellites doomed: SpaceX reported last night that 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites launched to low Earth orbit on February 3 are now doomed by a geomagnetic storm. SpaceX said: “The satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic

Wooden satellite from Finland

World’s first wooden satellite slated for launch in Finland. UPM Plywood, Arctic Astronautics and Huld announce today a joint mission to launch the first ever wooden satellite, WISA Woodsat, into Earth’s orbit by the end of 2021. The satellite electronics is mostly based on Kitsat that is a fully functional one unit CubeSat (roughly 10

Earth’s magnetic field is changing

It seems that Earth’s magnetic field is weakening and changing at the moment. The magnetic North is moving towards Siberia and South Atlantic Anomaly weakening the Earth’s magnetic field. There is some fear that the weakening is causing technical problems for satellites and could have other effects. Here are some links to news on this