SpaceX deployed 5,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine within days of the 2022 invasion, rising to about 15,000 active terminals by June 2022, with Ukraine at one point accounting for roughly 58% of global Starlink traffic. Russia attempted to jam Starlink signals on the battlefield, SpaceX rolled a software update to bypass the jamming, and by…
Read more
Starlink Constellation (2019–present) by SpaceX comprises about 4,500 microsatellites in ~550 km LEO with Ku/Ka-band user links and laser crosslinks, enabling global internet including disaster response. James Webb Space Telescope (2021) features a 6.5 m segmented mirror and instruments NIRCam, NIRSpec, and MIRI, delivering the deepest infrared images of the universe including SMACS 0723 and…
Read more
NASA released the Spot The Station mobile app in November 2023 to extend ISS flyover tracking beyond the website. FindStarlink.com provides Starlink sighting predictions with visibility labels (bright, average, dim) and a live map, plus free iOS/Android companion apps; it is ad-free and donations are optional. Orbitrack offers offline access to thousands of satellites, is…
Read more
Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, was the world’s first artificial satellite. Sputnik 2, launched in 1957, carried Laika the dog into orbit, the first living creature in space. Explorer 1, launched January 31, 1958, discovered Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts, proving satellites could do serious science. TIROS-1, launched in 1960, was the first…
Read more
The World Bank–funded Digital CASA project is deploying over 2,500 km of fiber, establishing 30 backbone nodes and 200 local access points, and will connect about 4,000 public facilities nationwide to high-speed broadband. As of late 2023, 4G/LTE mobile networks cover 98.8% of Kyrgyzstan’s inhabited localities. Internet penetration reached about 79.8% of the population by…
Read more
In 2024 the global GNSS correction and augmentation services market is estimated around $3.5 billion and is on track to double by 2030 to over $6 billion. RTK-based services accounted for $796.8 million in 2022, about 25% of the market. PPP was the largest segment in 2022, valued at $1,833.1 million (roughly 59% share). Galileo…
Read more
Field telephones were standard on the battlefield from the 1910s through the 1980s, with the EE-8 field telephone (1930s–Vietnam) offering a 7-mile range. The SCR-300 Walkie-Talkie, developed by Galvin Manufacturing (Motorola) in 1940, was the first backpack FM radio with about a 3-mile range. SINCGARS, fielded by the U.S. Army in the late 1980s, has…
Read more
WorldSpace, founded in 1990, launched the first satellite radio broadcasts in October 1999 over Africa and the Middle East, with India accounting for 90% of its subscribers before filing for bankruptcy in 2008 and ceasing broadcasts in 2009. XM Satellite Radio launched its first satellite in March 2001 and began broadcasting to U.S. customers on…
Read more
In late 2022, Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone 14 series, enabling two-way emergency texting via Globalstar satellites. As of iOS 17 and later, iPhone 14/15 users in supported regions can share their location and send basic non-emergency texts via satellite, with two years of free service after activation before a paid…
Read more
Telstar 1 (NASA) transmitted the first live television signals via satellite in 1962, linking Europe and North America. Syncom 2 became the first geosynchronous satellite in 1963, and Syncom 3 in 1964 broadcast the Tokyo Olympics to the United States. Intelsat I (Early Bird) was launched in 1965 as the world’s first commercial communications satellite…
Read more
