Why Space Matters: HEO Satellite Operations, Part 3–What’s the Frequency, Komrade(th)?

The previous lesson left you hanging, maybe even perturbed, with the question of why anyone would want to use a satellite in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO). After all, a HEO satellite requires a ground station or two with a moveable (steerable) antenna to speak to it (or the satellite’s antenna has to be gimbaled […]

The 30th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs

In about a week, the Space Foundation will be pulling out all stops to host a lot of companies and organizations interested in space, space operations, launch, and more. The event is the 30th Space Symposium here in Colorado Springs. The venue is the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort. Check-in starts next Sunday evening at 1600. Go […]

DIY Space: Google’s LEGO Moonbot Challenge

The deadline for registration is closing in for people, age 9 through 17, interested in building “moonbots” for Google’s Lunar XPrize Lego Mindstorms Challenge. The final day for initial registration is 15 May at 11.59.59PM PST. The challenge has two phases. The first is fairly simple, requiring a team video that answers the question “Why should we […]

Space, Transparency, and MH370

The Atlantic’s Ari Schulman has a terrific explanation regarding Inmarsat’s analysis of the “pings” their geostationary satellite received from Malaysian Airlines flight 370. Of more interest, the article also talks about why Inmarsat’s analysis may be incorrect. There are some puzzling problems with the data Inmarsat produced. The “ping” doppler values appear to be positive, […]

Other People’s Money–How the DoD Spends Yours On Space

What you’re about to read are my opinions, based on experiences with government, both as the government military and as a contractor. I am also taking the history of DoD space acquisitions, including relevant Government Accountability Office reports, into account to inform my opinion. My contention is: whatever the Department of Defense is saying they’re planning with […]