New Space Satellites and Data

Another of my Clearancejobs.com posts. This time it’s a bit about the opportunity for “New Space” companies to not only produce data, but also build up a robust infrastructure to shunt it around. It might be an opportunity that will grow. Read it here: The New Space Data Challenge–An Opportunity for Growth?

So Where Were the Spiders? NASA Might Be Using A Few

This Gearburn.com post has some interesting information about NASA’s $500,000 award to Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) and their ideas about how to construct objects in space using a robotic technology they’re calling “SpiderFab.” Specifically, NASA is expecting TUI to build a large multi-armed robot that looks a lot like a big white spider to extrude building materials (basically 3D print […]

DIY Space: Operate a Very Expensive Backhoe

I worked with some plumbing fellows this last year to remove some huge amounts of dirt to get at our very clogged up house waste line. One of the pieces of equipment we used to remove the dirt was a very small, but effective, backhoe. They let me help them with the backhoe occasionally (when I […]

Russia’s Fregat: What Mission Assurance?

Placing a satellite in the wrong orbit. It’s what the delightful world of mission assurance is supposed to prevent. If you talk to any space operator, mission assurance is the sexiest profession in the space realm…JK–not really! If anything, the typical space operator falls asleep at the first fishbone chart presented in the omnipresent and snore-inducing […]

“Space Ventura,” Space Detective

This is an odd business opportunity, and one which Air and Space Evidence Ltd. looks keen and ready to exploit. Their work seems to identify a gap that civil local government services haven’t yet addressed: solving crimes using Earth Observation imagery. The company isn’t just focusing on capital crimes, such as murder (although this NewScientist story talks about […]