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Category: Technology

Zombie Satellite! Defunct NASA Orbiter Emits Blazing Radio Burst After 60 Years

Astronomers were stunned when a 1960s NASA satellite suddenly “blinked” to life. On 13 June 2024, the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia detected an extraordinarily brief yet intense radio pulse lasting <30 nanoseconds and peaking at over 300,000 Jy chron.com n2yo.com. By tracing the signal in Earth’s vicinity (within ~12,400 miles…
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Pentagon’s Space Internet Nightmare: Why the Unified Satellite Network Keeps Stalling

Executive Summary: The Pentagon has long sought a “space internet” – an integrated military satellite network that automatically routes data across U.S., allied, and commercial satellites. This enterprise SATCOM vision promises resilience and high-speed connectivity, but it has been dogged by technical, bureaucratic, and industrial challenges. Recent reporting and studies show that legacy hardware, fragmented…
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Eyes in the Sky: How Earth Observation Is Revolutionizing Disaster Management

Earth Observation (EO) refers to the collection of information about Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere via remote sensing technologies – primarily satellites, but also drones, aircraft, and ground sensors. In the context of disaster management, EO provides a “big picture” perspective of events as they unfold. This real-time, wide-area view is transforming how we prepare…
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Internet Access in Jamaica: From Fiber to the Final Frontier

Jamaica has made significant strides in internet connectivity, achieving an internet penetration rate of roughly 83–85% in recent years datareportal.com pulse.internetsociety.org. As of early 2024, about 2.4 million Jamaicans were internet users (out of a 2.83 million population) datareportal.com. By January 2025 the number of users stood at 2.37 million, representing 83.4% of the population…
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Solar Tempests & Orbital Guardians: The Secret Life of Space-Weather Satellites

What Is Space Weather and Why It Matters Space Weather refers to the changing environmental conditions in space driven by the Sun’s activity – including bursts of solar radiation, charged particles, and magnetic disturbances. Just as terrestrial weather can produce hurricanes or blizzards, our Sun generates “solar tempests” like solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs),…
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Inside Israel’s Space Power: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Strength of the Israel Space Agency

Introduction Israel’s space program may be modest in scale, but it has achieved outsized capabilities. In 1988, Israel became the world’s eighth nation to launch its own satellite into orbit nasaspaceflight.com, and today it remains the smallest country to develop indigenous launch vehicles and an operational space agency en.wikipedia.org. What began as a strategic effort…
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Inside China’s Space Empire: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Power of CNSA

China’s space program has rapidly transformed into a space empire of global scale, guided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). In just a few decades, China went from launching its first satellite in 1970 to operating a fleet of over 1,000 satellites and a fully crewed space station in orbit andrewerickson.com space.com. Today, China…
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Iranian Satellites and Space Agency: Capabilities, Missions, and Strategic Vision

Iranian Space Agency (ISA) History and Founding Timeline Iran’s involvement in space activities dates back to the late 1950s, when it became a founding member of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1958 en.wikipedia.org. Early efforts focused on satellite communications and remote sensing: by 1976, Iran had established a “Remote…
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Top 100 Most Important Operational Satellites in 2025

Satellites play a vital role in modern society, supporting communications, navigation, Earth observation, scientific discovery, and security. This comprehensive report highlights 100 of the most important currently operational satellites across five major categories: Communications, Earth Observation, Navigation/Positioning, Scientific & Exploration, and Military/Intelligence. Each entry includes the satellite’s name (and launch year), operating organization, purpose and…
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Exploring the World from Above: Top Satellite Mapping Services for Web & Mobile in 2025

Introduction – A New Era of Online Satellite Maps Satellite maps have become an indispensable tool for everyday users and professionals alike. From planning road trips and exploring distant cities to monitoring environmental changes and responding to emergencies, modern mapping services bring high-resolution Earth imagery to our browsers and smartphones. This report dives into the…
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