Why Space Matters: GEO Satellite operations, Part 2–FOV/FOR-it things

In the first lesson, you learned (if you didn’t already know) a spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit is very far away from the Earth—a little over 26,000 miles. Before going any further, an explanation of Field of Regard (FOR) versus Field of View (FOV) is in order since we will initially be talking about weather imagery satellites. […]

Why Space Matters: GEO Satellite operations, Part 1–Going GEO

One of these things is just like the other… In an earlier post regarding the United States Air Force replacement of their Defense Support Program satellites with Space Based Infrared ones, there was a question posed to you: What do both the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) and Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites have in common, […]

You can pick DigitalGlobe’s top 5 of 20 images

Occasionally the Huffington Post will post something interesting, like this series of pictures they’re grabbing from DigitalGlobe’s Getty Images page. So, if you don’t have or desire a Facebook or Getty Image account, thank Huffington Post, and look at some great pictures of things on Earth’s surface taken from DigitalGlobe’s polar Low Earth Orbiting satellites. […]

China’s Long March to the Moon

Looks like China just did what they said they were going to do. They just launched a autonomous rover, the Jade Rabbit, to the moon. You can go to NBC news here for more information. The Chinese are moving quickly. Video of their preparations about five hours prior to launch. Related articles China to […]

I don’t think Hell has frozen over (yet)

Under the exasperated sighs of “Riiiiight” and “Surrrre,” Boeing has proudly announced on November 8 a “partnership” (read “monopoly”) with the United States Air Force (USAF). This partnership is supposed to help everyone involved to reduce “supply chain costs.” As I’ve noted before, the government and military’s acquisitions systems are broken. This system affects the […]