NASA’s launching a satellite constellation this month to study the solar wind in 3D

The sun, for all its glitz, tends to hide behind a veil of mystery. For instance, its outer atmosphere, the corona, appears to be hotter than its surface — like, way hotter — and scientists aren’t sure why. There’s also a big puzzle concerning how the solar wind, which is a stream of charged particles … Read more

Magnificent communication: Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin tests Verizon satellite service in new ad

As someone who is no stranger to comm dropouts on a planetary scale, Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin has teamed up with Verizon to help promote the company’s satellite-based solution to cell service “dead zones.” The now 95-year-old astronaut, who in 1969 became one of the first humans to step foot on the lunar surface, … Read more

Space debris and satellite laser ranging combined using a megahertz system

Hardware and software The following list summarizes the key hard- and software components used for acquiring the results. Laser: neoLASE neoMOS, 50 kHz–20 MHz, M2 = 1.15, 10 ps Laser power infrared: P = 41.3 W@1MHz, P = 28.1W@100kHz, green: P = 17W@1MHz, P = 11W@100kHz Receive telescope 1: Contraves, Cassegrain, d = 0.5 m, for monostatic setup Receive telescope 2: ASA, Ritchey-Chretien, d = 0.8 m, for bistatic setup Transmit telescope: Contraves, d1 = 0.07 m, monostatic … Read more