Launching satellites is getting cheaper?

Last year was pretty good for small satellites weighing less than 10 kg (22 lbs). 46 percent of all satellites launched in 2014 weighed less than 10 kg. A LOT of satellites were launched in 2014. Heck, just one Russian Dnepr rocket deployed 37 satellites during one launch last year. Many were deployed from the International […]

DIY Space: Do You Have Room in Your Life for PocketSpacecraft?

“If at first you don’t succeed…”–this is the spirit that is guiding the people conducting the activities at PocketSpacecraft.com. They originally tried to get their “Mission to the Moon” project funded last year with Kickstarter, but didn’t get the funding level required there. The Mission to the Moon would’ve given lots of people the opportunity to send […]

Is Space Becoming More Accessible for Terrorists?

Part 2 In part 1 of these posts, we noted the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) basically said it was worried that terrorists will put satellites up in space within 31 years from this year. Then the MoD gave examples, which while related to space, weren’t satellites or rockets. The article these posts are based […]

Mining Landfills Made Easier with Satellites

This New Scientist post is quite interesting. It talks about a topic that is a bit unusual: landfill mining. There is at least one company out there right now–Terra Recovery–that’s taking advantage of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Business Incubation Centers to hatch an idea for using satellites for their business. And that business is […]

Are Current US Regs Smothering the SmallSat Market?

My post will be short, but it does tie in with yesterday’s post, so go read that and see if you agree. But The Economist posted this article today, and it might be worth a read. Reading the article, it’s obvious the writer is bullish about the future of small satellites. The writer suggests, basing the […]