Tag: satellite
New Lockheed Martin Company Wants to Build a Satellite Constellation Around the Moon
Denver-based company Lockheed Martin has announced the launch of a subsidiary for the purpose of setting up communication and navigation services around the Moon for future lunar missions.
Lockheed Martin is building a Moon-to-Earth satellite communications network
If humanity is going to have a long-term presence on the Moon, it’s going to need reliable communications — and Lockheed Martin thinks it can provide that link. The company has created a spinoff devoted to lunar infrastructure, Crescent Space, whose first project is a Moon-to-Earth satellite network. Parsec, as it’s called, uses a constellation of small lunar satellites to provide a non-stop connection between astronauts, their equipment and the people back home. The system will also provide navigation help.
The technology should help explorers keep in touch, and assist with spacecraft course changes. As Lockheed Martin explains, though, it could prove vital to those on lunar soil. Parsec’s nodes create a lunar equivalent to GPS, giving astronauts their exact positions and directions back to base. A rover crew might know how to return home without driving into a dangerous crater, for instance.
Crescent’s first Parsec nodes should be operational by 2025, with Lockheed Martin providing the satellites. And before you ask: yes, the company is clearly hoping for some big customers. CEO Joe Landon (formerly a Lockheed Martin Space VP) claims Crescent is “well positioned” to support NASA’s Artemis Moon landings and other exploratory missions.
The startup may seem premature when NASA’s Artemis program won’t even conduct a lunar flyby until late 2024, and a landing at the end of 2025. However, there’s already a clear race to the Moon that includes national efforts from the US and China as well as private projects like SpaceX’s lunar tourism. Crescent could help Lockheed Martin profit from that rush without disrupting its existing businesses.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lockheed-martin-is-building-a-moon-to-earth-satellite-communications-network-204507410.html?src=rss
iOS 16.4 Expands iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite to Six More Countries
Emergency SOS via Satellite enables iPhone 14 models to connect to Globalstar satellites in countries where the feature is available, allowing users to send text messages to emergency service dispatchers when outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. The service is free to use for two years after activating an iPhone 14, and this two-year period will begin today for users in the newly supported countries.
With iOS 16.4, Apple says a user dialing a local emergency number in the newly supported countries will automatically be redirected to 112, the European emergency number, in the event that the call fails due to no cellular or Wi-Fi connection.
In a support document, Apple warns that foliage or other obstructions can result in messages taking longer to send or failing to send, and satellite connectivity might not work in places above 62° latitude, such as northern parts of Canada and Alaska.
Emergency SOS via Satellite first launched in November in the U.S. and Canada and requires an iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, or iPhone 14 Pro Max. The service expanded to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December. iPhone users should read Apple’s support document for important details about the service.
This article, “iOS 16.4 Expands iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite to Six More Countries” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Cable and satellite providers may have to advertise the true price of TV service
Are you tired of TV providers advertising one price, but charging another thanks to hidden fees? You might not have to put up with that practice for much longer. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a requirement that cable and satellite TV services “clearly and prominently” display the true cost of service both in their marketing and on subscriber bills. Companies couldn’t mask programming costs as fees that only show up on your bill, hiding them behind vague or potentially misleading terms.
The measure is intended to help would-be customers make truly informed choices about TV subscriptions, including comparisons with streaming services. The move could also help boost competition between providers and help cash-strapped families avoid unpleasant surprises, FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel claims.
The proposal comes months after President Biden called on government agencies to fight “junk fees” and otherwise demand more transparent pricing for services and events. The FCC itself recently said it would require broadband “nutrition labels” that display prices and typical performance. In that light, the TV price transparency effort is mainly an extension that could outline exactly how much you’ll pay for a multi-service bill.
The proposal doesn’t come at a great time for conventional TV giants. Streaming TV viewership in the US (including live and on-demand) overtook cable for the first time last summer. While internet-only services aren’t always better deals than cable and satellite equivalents, the increased transparency could prevent traditional companies from artificially minimizing the differences.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cable-and-satellite-providers-may-have-to-advertise-the-true-price-of-tv-service-164929621.html?src=rss
Satellite built with $20 CPU and 48 AA batteries tests method to reduce costs and space junk
How College Students Built a Satellite With AA Batteries and a $20 Microprocessor
“As luck would have it, a group of students and researchers at Brown University just made promising headway for both issues.”
Last year, the team successfully launched their breadloaf-sized cube satellite (or cubesat) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the comparatively low production cost of $10,000, with a dramatically shortened lifespan estimated at just five years. What’s more, much of the microsat was constructed using accessible, off-the-shelf components, such as a popular $20 microprocessor powered by 48 AA batteries. In total, SBUDNIC — a play on Sputnik as well as an acronym of the students’ names — is likely the first of its kind to be made almost entirely from materials not specifically designed for space travel.
Additionally, the group attached a 3D-printed drag sail made from Kapton film that unfurled once the cubesat reached orbit roughly 520 kilometers above Earth. Since tracking began in late May 2022, the students’ satellite has already lowered down to 470 kilometers — well below its fellow rocketmates aboard the Falcon 9, which remain around 500 kilometers high.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
SpaceX Starlink rolls out $200 per month ‘global’ satellite internet package
Last summer, we reviewed Starlink RV, a version of the satellite internet service that promised users access from pretty much anywhere on their continent. Now, it has been rebranded as Starlink Roam, available in either a regional access flavor for $150 per month or for global use anywhere the service is available for $200 per month.
As with the RV package, users can choose either a portable antenna for $599 or one intended for in-motion use for $2,500. Previously, you could only travel with Starlink’s satellite dish (nicknamed Dishy) within the same continent.
Starlink now offers global roaming https://t.co/WlRNSDfwJ6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2023
Starlink markets the rebranded subscription as a way for customers to use…
Amazon Shows off Its New Starlink-Style Satellite Internet Antennas
In February, we learned that Amazon is getting ready to deploy over 3,000 “Project Kuiper” broadband satellites into orbit. The move will offer internet to millions, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink. The company is giving us our first look at three antennas that’ll use the network.
Read This Article on Review Geek ›
Amazon’s Satellite Internet Won’t Need a Giant Antenna
Satellite internet is rapidly becoming more useful with the introduction of low-orbit networks, like Starlink and Iridium, and Amazon has been building up its own network. Amazon has now revealed more details about how it will work.