The Pentagon aims to field a software-defined, multi-layer Enterprise SATCOM network that seamlessly routes data across DoD, allied, and commercial satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO to support Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). In 2020 the Space Force and DoD CIO committed to the shift, with the SDA launching the National Defense Space Architecture…
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Sentinel-1 radar imaged the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique in 2019 and revealed approximately 2,165 km² of flooding around the coastal city of Beira. Idai’s satellite flood maps pinpointed about 400,000 people stranded and helped allocate rescue resources. NOAA’s GOES weather satellites monitored Hurricane Dorian in 2019 as it approached the Bahamas, providing real-time…
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1859: British astronomer Richard Carrington observed a powerful solar flare, and within a day telegraph systems worldwide went haywire while auroras appeared near the equator—the Carrington Event, the largest geomagnetic storm on record. During the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year, Explorer-1 became the first U.S. satellite to discover the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth. SOHO,…
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On September 19, 1988, Ofek-1 became Israel’s first indigenous satellite, making Israel the eighth nation to orbit its own spacecraft. The Israel Space Agency (ISA) was established in 1983 under physicist Yuval Ne’eman to oversee Israel’s civilian space activities. The Shavit launch vehicle is a 20-meter-tall, three-stage solid-fuel rocket that can loft about 380 kg…
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The China National Space Administration (CNSA) was established in 1993 as China’s civil space authority. By the end of 2024, China operated more than 1,060 active satellites in orbit, a count that has grown more than six-fold since 2015. Chang’e-4 achieved the first landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019. Micius (Mozi), launched in…
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February 2009: Iran becomes the ninth country to launch an indigenous satellite with its own rocket, sending Omid into orbit on the Safir launcher. Khayyam (2022) is a 600 kg Earth-observation satellite with 1-meter resolution, built with Russian collaboration and launched by a Russian Soyuz to a ~500 km orbit. Noor-1, Iran’s first military satellite,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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