US officials have launched a debate on a proposal to nationalize the newest generation of high-speed wireless internet networks in the name of national security, provoking sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. One official familiar with the proposal but not authorized to speak publicly told AFP the idea “has been discussed over the past…
Ariane 5 Satellites In Orbit But Not In Right Location
Two commercial satellites have been placed in orbit by an Ariane 5 rocket but have yet to reach their correct positions, Arianespace said Thursday, after mission control briefly lost contact with the craft in a rare malfunction. The usually reliable European space workhorse blasted off at 7.20 pm (2220 GMT) from the Kourou Space Centre…
China, Europe Jointly Test Technology For Storm Satellite
China and Europe are jointly testing new technology that could help satellites peer through clouds and analyze storms. The European Space Agency says it has teamed up with China’s National Space Center to conduct ground tests on two complementary devices designed to deliver high-resolution images from an orbit of 36,000 kilometers (22,370 miles). The agency…
Ariane 5 Rocket Puts European GPS Satellites Into Orbit
An Ariane 5 rocket put four GPS satellites into orbit on Tuesday for Europe’s Galileo navigation project, Arianespace said. The European space workhorse took off at 1836 GMT and deployed the satellites four hours after launch. The Galileo programme, when complete, will have 30 satellites in three orbital planes by 2020. If all goes according…
Old Dog, New Tricks: Sony Unleashes ‘Intelligent’ Robot Pet
As Japan celebrates the year of the dog, electronics giant Sony on Thursday unleashed its new robot canine companion, packed with artificial intelligence and internet connectivity. The sleek ivory-white puppy-sized “aibo” robot shook its head and wagged its tail as if waking from a nap when it was taken out of a cocoon-shaped case at a “birthday…
Champagne Box-Sized Satellite To Probe Distant Planet
France is set to launch a champagne box-sized mini satellite into Earth orbit on Friday to study a mysterious, juvenile planet system in our Milky Way galaxy, mission controllers said. The PicSat orbiter’s target is the massive star Beta Pictoris, some 60 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Pictor (The Painter’s Easel),…
EU Unveils Supercomputer Plan To Rival China
The EU unveiled plans Thursday to raise one billion euros to build superfast computers that catch up with China and others to boost Europe’s economy, make medical advances and fight hacking. China overtook the United States in numbers and performance for supercomputers in a ranking last November, followed by non-EU Switzerland and Japan in third…
Travis The Translator Aims To Make People Understood
Netherlands-based startup Travis is out to make people understood no matter what language they speak. Travis was at the Consumer Electronics Show here late Tuesday with a small device capable of translating conversations between people speaking different languages in real time. “Technology connects us as far as we are accessible to each other, but those true connections…
Russia Restores Contact With Angolan Satellite
Russian specialists on Friday said they have restored communication with Angosat-1, the first national satellite it launched for Angola, days after they lost contact with it. “Specialists of Energia rocket and space corporation have received telemetry information from Angosat,” Energia said in a statement. “All parameters of the spacecraft systems are normal.” Energia is the maker of…
Russia Loses Contact With Angolan Satellite: Space Industry Source
Russia has lost contact with Angola’s first national telecoms satellite launched from the Baikonur space pad, a source in the space industry told AFP on Wednesday. The incident involving the Russian-made Angosat-1 is a new embarrassment for the country’s once proud space industry after Russia in November lost contact with a weather satellite after it was…
Rocket Lights Sky As It Carries Satellites From California
A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space. The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base, carrying the latest batch of satellites for Iridium Communications. The launch in the setting sun created a…
US Military Imagines War Without GPS
With GPS-guided bombs, armed drones beaming footage via satellite and spy cameras scooping up intel from the heavens, America’s military machine is growing ever more reliant on space-based technology. But what would happen if an enemy were to target the military’s satellites, or somehow jam their signals? The disastrous scenario is one the Pentagon knows…
Germany Extends Facial Recognition Test At Rail Station
Germany’s top security official is extending tests of automatic facial recognition technology after an initial six-month trial showed the system had a good success rate. The tests used high-quality pictures of more than 200 volunteers to identify them as they passed through Berlin’s Suedkreuz railway station. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Friday that cameras…
SpaceX Poised To Launch Recycled Rocket And Spaceship
For the first time, SpaceX is poised to launch both a rocket and a cargo ship that have flown before, a step forward in the company’s goal to lower the cost of spaceflight. The liftoff Friday of the recycled Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 10:36 am (1536 GMT) from a NASA…
Image: 3-D-Printed Satellite Imager Design
Weirdly organic in appearance, this prototype is the first outcome of an ESA project to develop, manufacture and demonstrate an optical instrument for space with 3D printing. A two-mirror telescope derived from the European-made Ozone Monitoring Instrument now flying on NASA’s Aura satellite, it was not so much designed as grown, with the instrument’s design…
Shark-Spotting Drones On Patrol At Australian Beaches
High-tech shark-spotting drones are patrolling dozens of Australian beaches this summer to quickly identify underwater predators and deliver safety devices to swimmers and surfers faster than traditional lifesavers. As hundreds of people lined up in early morning sun to take part in a recent ocean swimming race at Bilgola beach north of Sydney, they did…
Satellites To Battle The Digital Divide
A Franco-Finnish consortium developed a new generation of satellite technologies to deliver fast Internet to remote communities. Six publications and two patents demonstrate the scientific quality of the research performed. Researchers at Thales Alenia Space and some of its Finnish suppliers spotted the potential of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) more than six years ago. They…
‘Go Home’ Drone Seeks To Stop Japan Overtime Binge
A drone that hovers over Japanese employees and blares music to force them to go home was unveiled Thursday, as the country tries to reduce its notoriously long work hours. The “T-Frend” buzzes over those trying to work late, blasting out the strains of “Auld Lang Syne”, a Scottish tune typically used in Japan to…
Image: Mini-Radar Chip
A prototype transmit/receive module on a single 6×6 mm chip, intended to deliver miniaturised space radar systems for future missions. Traditional transmit/receive modules used on Europe’s Sentinel-1 and comparable radar missions employ separate circuits for the high-power amplifier, the low-noise amplifier and the switch/isolator. The aim, developed for ESA by TNO in the Netherlands, UMS…
Delivery Robots Will Need Permits To Roam San Francisco
Delivery robots in San Francisco will need permits before they can roam city sidewalks under legislation approved by city supervisors. San Francisco has struggled to regulate hometown startups that grew too popular, including short-term vacation rental platform Airbnb and ride-hailing service Uber. Supervisor Norman Yee proposed an outright ban on delivery robots but settled on…
Second Stealthy Destroyer Heads Out To Sea For First Time
The second in the stealthy Zumwalt class of destroyers is heading out to sea for the first time. The future USS Lyndon B. Johnson left Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works on Monday. With the help of tugs, the 610-foot ship is carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the North Atlantic. The warship will…
Phones Vulnerable To Location Tracking Even When GPS Services Off
Demonstrating a potential privacy breach, a team of Princeton University engineers has developed an app that can locate and track people through their smartphones even when access to the Global Positioning System, or GPS, data on their devices is turned off. The app, called PinMe, mines information already stored on smartphones that—unlike GPS—doesn’t require permission…
Hackers Could Get Even Nastier In 2018: Researchers
After a year marked by devastating cyber attacks and breaches, online attackers are expected to become even more destructive in 2018, security researchers said Wednesday. A report by the security firm McAfee said the ransomware outbreaks of 2017 offer just a taste of what’s to come as hackers develop new strategies and “business models.” McAfee…
ESA’s Latest Technology CubeSat Cleared For Launch Site
GomX-4B, ESA’s latest and largest technology-testing CubeSat, will be launched from China early next year, together with the near-identical GomX-4A. The pair will test intersatellite communication links and propulsion while orbiting up to 4500 km apart. The cereal box-sized GomX-4B has been passed as ready to travel along with its twin from manufacturer GomSpace in…
Gadgets For Mars
A mini-rover, tools once used on the moon and lasers for 3-D mapping are in the backpack of the explorers of tomorrow. The terrain will be hazardous and it will be dark in volcanic caves, but this equipment could one day help to scout other planets. The alien-like landscapes of Lanzarote, Spain, are almost surreal…