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What Would Happen If Every Satellite Suddenly Died?
Imagine totally disconnecting from the world at large: internet, mobile service, television — all totally gone, leaving you free from virtual distractions and the accompanying stress. It’s a fantasy most people have had at some point, even if they never plan on following through. But what would happen if everyone was suddenly cut off — and it wasn’t by choice?
A Dead Satellite Could Ruin Weather Prediction For Years
While extreme weather events seem to come and go more often than ever, our ability to forecast them does at least help us minimise risk to human life. But an impending weather satellite outage could make events like yesterday’s devestating tornado even harder to predict — for up to three years.
Earth, As Seen By Smartphone Satellites
A few months ago, NASA sent some Nexus Ones into space to see if a smartphone could hold its own against the million dollar satellites already up there. The answer is “not exactly”. When it comes to photography, it’s probably best to stick with the space-professionals.
How NASA’s Fermi Telescope Sidestepped A Gigantic Space Crash
There’s are kinds of asteroids and other debris cruising through space, but a lot of the really dangerous stuff is stuff we put there ourselves. NASA’s cosmic bubble-spotting Fermi telescope almost had an intergalactic fender bender, but not with some epoch-old rock floating through the cosmos. No, it almost got crushed by some Cold War-era rubbish.
The Very First Picture Of Earth Beamed From Outer Space
What with today’s fancy Doppler radars and forecast graphics and fear mongering, it’s refreshing to get a glimpse of the relative simplicity in man’s very first attempt at remotely monitoring the shifts in Earth’s climate. After capturing the above images on April 1, 1960, TIROS-1 (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) only stayed in operation for 78 days before ending its historic run.
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