Company History and Founding SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) was founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2002. Musk invested $100 million of his own money (from his PayPal sale) to start the company, driven by a vision of dramatically reducing space launch costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. The initial motivation came after Musk’s…
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Comoros is a small archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, comprised of three main islands – Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Ndzuwani), and Mohéli (Mwali) – along with the neighboring French territory of Mayotte freiheit.org. Its geography poses unique challenges for telecommunications: the islands are separated by ocean channels and are volcanic and mountainous, making infrastructure…
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Imagine a satellite that not only takes pictures of Earth, but can also identify what materials compose each pixel of the image. This is the promise of hyperspectral imaging – a technology giving satellites “super-vision” across hundreds of colors beyond human sight. Hyperspectral sensors capture detailed spectral fingerprints of objects by measuring reflected light in…
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Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network, has rapidly expanded coverage worldwide since its beta launch in 2020. As of mid-2025, Starlink service is available in over 110 countries and territories, with more on the way idemest.com. Below is an up-to-date regional breakdown of Starlink availability – including countries with full commercial service, those in beta or…
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Introduction – A Nation Offline The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of over 100 million people, but only about 27% of the population was using the internet as of early 2024 datareportal.com. This means roughly 75 million Congolese remain offline, a staggering digital gap in the heart of Africa datareportal.com. For comparison,…
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Definition and Basic Principles Satellite imagery refers to images of Earth (or other planets) collected by orbiting satellites. These images are a form of remote sensing, meaning the data are acquired from a distance without direct contact. Satellites carry sensors that detect electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted from the Earth’s surface. Most imaging satellites use passive sensors that rely…
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Imagine peering down at Earth through thick clouds or the dead of night and still seeing clear images of the surface. Traditional optical satellites are blind in such conditions – in fact, at any given moment about 75% of the planet is obscured either by cloud cover or darkness, making it inaccessible to optical imaging…
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Satellite Phone Basics What is a satellite phone? A satellite phone (or satphone) is a mobile phone that connects directly to orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell towers. This means it can place calls and send messages from almost anywhere on Earth, especially in regions without cellular coverage. Like a regular cell phone, a satphone supports voice calling…
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General Overview SpaceX has launched thousands of Starlink satellites (over 6,750 in orbit by 2025) to form the world’s largest satellite constellation and provide global internet coverage phys.org. Q: What is Starlink?A: Starlink is a satellite-based broadband internet service operated by SpaceX. It uses a constellation of small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to beam internet connectivity…
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Introduction Satellite phones are invaluable for staying connected in remote or disaster-stricken areas, but travelers must be aware that these devices are not welcome everywhere. In fact, several countries ban or tightly regulate satellite phones due to security and government control concerns en.wikipedia.org. Because satellite phones communicate directly via satellites and bypass local telecom networks, authorities in…
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