Jam On It!–Arabsat’s Ethiopian Space Jam Problem

What does a satellite operator do if someone jams its broadcast signal? Specifically, what does Arabsat do when someone jams its TV signals in Africa and the Middle East? According to this Satellite Today post, the company first finds out where this “intentional uplink interference” is coming from. Then it takes its case to the International […]

Amateur hour with Zulu time–Part 4

This post only means to show some of the “weirdness” some government agencies go through as they run their programs. It is not meant besmirch any reputation of any agency or person. Anyone who doesn’t take any of this with the grain of salt it deserves, maybe should think seriously about yoga. But just so you […]

World Time Z–Zulu Time, that is–Part 3

Zulu time is Z-time. It’s really that simple. It means zero hours, describing the offset of time from the Greenwich Mean Time longitude line. Why Zulu and not Zero or Z? It has to do with the alphabet and clear communications. It has to do with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) needs and that […]

Dropped balls, accurate time, Zulu, and space operations–Part 2

My inspiration to write this particular series of posts was the latest switch from Daylight Saving Time (DST). There were the inevitable posts and soft news arguments and articles about the reasons for DST. I’m not going to write about DST, but it all reminded me of an experience with a certain defense agency—one that […]

Battleship, space operations, and Zulu–Part 1

Sometimes it’s the small things, the things a person takes for granted, that get a person out of sorts if not in place or wrong. Ever heard of a blue stop sign? No, and there’s probably a good reason for it, which will not be explored here. But think of the confusion a blue stop […]