satellites
News

Were US Satellites Hacked By The Chinese Military?

Much has been made of the cybertensions between the US and China, especially when it comes to military secrets. While any conflict thus far has been minor, the latest allegation of China hacking American satellites validates those concerns at least a little.

October 26, 2011
Science

That Crashing Satellite Narrowly Avoided Wrecking Chinese Cities

Good news! The ROSAT satellite didn’t destroy all humans. Most of it just burned up in the atmosphere, as expected — but not all of it! Nearly two tons of German space junk hit the ocean — and almost China.

October 23, 2011
Science

Another Satellite Is Falling To Earth This Week

We may have all survived the less than graceful return of NASA’s UARS satellite a month ago, but you’ll want to keep your eyes on the skies this week as we’re not out of the clear yet.

October 21, 2011
Science

DARPA Wants To Hack Old Satellites Into New Ones, While In Space

Launching satellites is a risky proposition–costing as much as $US10,000 a pound to make orbit and little recourse if a critical piece malfunctions. So, DARPA has devised a system to recycle the $US300 billion worth of orbiting dead satellites into a zombie antenna array.

September 30, 2011
Science

Another Dead Satellite Is Blindly Plummeting To Earth

So apparently defunct satellites blithely falling from the sky is a thing now. After last week’s UARS debacle, the now-defunct German Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) is scheduled to crash to Earth in late October or early November.

September 24, 2011
Science

NASA’s Decommissioned Research Satellite Has Landed

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite that has been befuddling NASA scientists with its unpredictable reentry path has finally fallen back to Earth. We… just don’t know where yet exactly. But you’re safe to look up now.

September 23, 2011
Science

Track NASA’s Satellite As It Falls Back To Earth

Everyone mark your calendar as NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite may crash back to earth at the end of this week. The date is still TBD, but early estimates suggest tomorrow will be the big day.

September 19, 2011
Science

Massive Cold War Spy Satellite Hidden From World Until Now

The Hexagon satellite spied on America’s Cold War foes for over a decade, taking extremely detailed (film!) photographs from space. It was 60 feet long — bigger than a bus. And the public never, ever saw it. We did.

September 17, 2011
Science

NASA’s Not Sure Where In The World This Satellite Will Crash

The 20-year-old UARS satellite has dropped out of orbit — as old satellites are wont to do — and is reentering the atmosphere. Too bad NASA can’t pinpoint where — or when — exactly it will land. Could be the middle of the Pacific, could be the middle of Paris — it’s a surprise!

September 12, 2011
Mobile

The Scout Observer: Personal iPhone-Powered SATCOMe

There’s not really much that needs to be said about this six-pound beast of a box than what’s hinted at in the headline: Basically, this is a portable satellite communications device that’s built around an iPhone dock.

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