The Slowness of Being Government and Its Space Technology

From a Softpedia news post, a writer conjectures mainly about the United States Air Force’s (USAF) X-37B space drone and what it might mean to space warfare. It’s a decent, thought-provoking article, so you may wish to read it. But there’s an assumption made within the article: the government has the best, most sophisticated space toys. […]

Can Satellites Help Find Lost Aircraft? Can You? Maybe!

“The mystery surrounding the unfortunate Malaysian Flight MH370 has caused some of the more astute reporters to ask questions about satellites. Specifically, were there any satellites over the area the airplane disappeared in? And if there were, would they, or could they have picked up anything to help find the missing airplane? Ultimately, can satellites help […]

What the USAF Watch-dog Satellites May Mean to the Space Community

We’re from the Government. We’re here to help… The announcement of two geosynchronous space situational awareness satellites from the United States Air Force last Friday was very interesting. It also raises some issues, which are addressed in my latest Clearancejobs.com article. I’ll probably talk a bit more about the other issues later, too.

Why Space Matters: GEO Satellite operations, Part 7–Curves and Angles

Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites are wonderful. They can see a lot of the Earth from 22,236 miles in space. It’s why they make great observation and communications satellites. Previous chapters explained some of the problems facing GEO satellites, too, such as solar influence and eclipses. But now’s the time for a few lesser known problems GEO satellites […]

Fill it up, RROxITT! And check the solar panels, too.

For a very long time, satellites orbiting the Earth have had a very finite lifetime. Some satellites have lasted over ten years, and aside from anomalies and failing components, a satellite’s fuel tank has been key to how long a satellite can function. But that might change soon for geosynchronous (GEO) satellites, thanks to RROxITT (Remote Robotic […]