BENGALULU, India (ISRO PR) — Growing collision threats of space objects including orbital debris with the operational space assets have become a perennial problem for the safe and sustainable use of outer space. These threats restrict the unhindered access to space and prompt all space actors to take appropriate measures to mitigate them.
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RUAG Space and Stream Analyze collaborate to offer a platform for intelligent applications in space using Stream Analyze’ analytics platform sa.engine on the latest high performance satellite computer Lynx from RUAG Space.
GOTHENBURG/STOCKHOLM, Sweden (RUAG Space PR) – Swarms of hundreds or thousands of small satellites are increasingly used for bringing data and internet services to Earth. To position, communicate and dispose such large amounts of satellites, Artificial Intelligence is getting increasingly important. To enable a large-scale use of Artificial Intelligence in orbit, RUAG Space, Europe’s leading supplier to the space industry, and Stream Analyze, recognized as one of Sweden’s leading tech startups, are teaming up.
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by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
A new report recommends “immediate, well-funded, comprehensive, and collaborative work” to implement a series of measures to mitigate the negative impacts that large satellite constellations on ground-based astronomy.
The report, whose executive summary was published last week, includes 10 recommendations for observatories and constellation operators that include the development of software to identify and mask satellite trails and designs changes to lessen the reflectivity of satellites. (The full list of recommendations are below.)
(more…)Note: Story updated with information about ABL Space Systems’ RS1 booster.
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Rocket Lab’s announcement that it is developing the medium-lift Neutron rocket focused on launching satellite constellations was an inevitable consequence of SpaceX getting into the rideshare business.
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21 UK organisations have been awarded a share of over £7 million of funding to put the UK at the forefront of the latest advances in space innovation
SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — The cash injection is going to high-risk, high-reward projects that support companies and universities with radical ideas for how we tackle climate change through Earth Observation or address satellite communications challenges, from providing greater connectivity to remote places to increasing the efficiency of our homes.
Projects set for the cash boost include The Open University who will use the money to create the UK’s first Precision Forestry tool, TreeView, which will support efforts to tackle the climate emergency through detailed measurement of tree-planting initiatives aimed at increasing carbon dioxide removal.
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MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — The Russian Space Systems Holding (RKS, part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) is developing a self-regulating technology for controlling multi-satellite orbital constellations with elements of artificial intelligence and minimal human participation. It will allow in the future to automate the control of satellite constellations of thousands of spacecraft.
A feature of the new technology will be the transition from the point control of individual spacecraft used today to the control of the systemic effect of the entire orbital constellation. In their development, DCS specialists propose to use the methods of coordinated self-organization – or homeostasis, which will effectively manage the orbital structure, its number, system resources, data transmission network and orbital computing network.
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Summary: A report by experts representing the global astronomical community concludes that large constellations of bright satellites in low Earth orbit will fundamentally change ground-based optical and infrared astronomy and could impact the appearance of the night sky for stargazers worldwide. The report is the outcome of the recent SATCON1 virtual workshop, which brought together more than 250 scientists, engineers, satellite operators, and other stakeholders.
WASHINGTON (AAS PR) — The report from the Satellite Constellations 1 (SATCON1) workshop, organized jointly by NSF’s NOIRLab and the American Astronomical Society (AAS), has been delivered to the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Held virtually from 29 June to 2 July 2020, SATCON1 focused on technical aspects of the impact of existing and planned large satellite constellations on optical and infrared astronomy. NSF, which funded the workshop, also finances most of the large ground-based telescopes widely available to researchers in the United States.
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PARIS (CNES PR) — On the occasion of the state visit to France of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an agreement signed by CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and K Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was officially announced to start development and production of a constellation of satellites on which studies have been underway since President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to India in March 2018.
This constellation carrying telecommunications (AIS*) and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments will constitute the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously. The satellites will be operated jointly by France and India to monitor ships in the Indian Ocean. The system will cover a wide belt around the globe, benefiting a broad range of French economic interests. With a revisit capability making it possible to task acquisitions several times a day, it will also be able to detect oil slicks and trace their origin.
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The Lunar Gateway (Credit: NASA)
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
NASA has received a $21.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2019, which is $736.86 million above FY 2018 and $1.6 billion above the total requested by the Trump Administration.
The funding, which came more than four months into the fiscal year, was included in an appropriations bill signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. NASA’s budget has been on an upward trajectory over the last few years. In FY 2018, the space agency received an $1.64 billion increase over the previous year.
