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
TIROS-1, launched by NASA on April 1, 1960, weighed about 120 kg and transmitted over 19,000 cloud images in 78 days, proving the concept of space-based weather observation. GOES-16 (GOES-East), launched in 2016 as part of the GOES-R series, delivers 0.5 km resolution imagery across 16 spectral bands and can scan as often as 30…
Read more
The CORONA (Discoverer) program operated from 1959 to 1972 as the United States’ first photo-reconnaissance satellite program, with Discoverer XIV achieving the first mid-air film recovery in August 1960. KH-11 KENNEN (CRYSTAL), first launched in 1976, introduced electro-optical digital imaging with about 15 cm per-pixel resolution, and a 2019 declassified image from USA-224 reportedly achieved…
Read more
Over 32,000 debris objects are regularly tracked, with an estimated 130+ million fragments too small to track, and a 1-centimeter piece can disable a satellite. The International Space Station has performed nearly 40 evasive maneuvers to dodge debris. Kessler Syndrome describes a self-sustaining cascade of collisions that could render portions of orbit unusable. In 2007,…
Read more
The four pillars of quantum technology are quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing (metrology), and quantum simulation. In 2016, China’s Micius satellite demonstrated satellite-based quantum key distribution by distributing entangled photons between ground stations over 1,200 km. IBM aims to build a 4,000+ qubit machine by 2025 and demonstrated a 433-qubit processor in 2022. D-Wave’s…
Read more
Global government and military Satcom spending is projected to grow about 7–10% annually, rising from roughly $50 billion in 2024 to $64 billion by 2030. The Ukraine conflict underscored Satcom’s importance, with Starlink keeping forces online for combat and coalition operations. Militaries are shifting to enterprise Satcom architectures that blend military and commercial satellites across…
Read more
As of March 2025, approximately 14,900 total satellites were in orbit, with about 11,000–12,000 active and 3,000–4,000 inactive or defunct. SpaceX’s Starlink has about 7,000–7,500 active satellites in orbit as of 2025, accounting for over 60% of all operational satellites and a goal of 42,000 total. OneWeb deployed 648 satellites with roughly 652 operational by…
Read more
FireSat, a Google Research–led constellation with the Earth Fire Alliance, will refresh every 20 minutes and use onboard AI to detect fires as small as a 5×5 meter patch (25 m²); the first satellite was launched in 2025. ALERTCalifornia operates 1,100+ AI-assisted cameras across California, filtering frames to alert responders and enabling early detection before…
Read more
Google introduced the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in 2023–2024, using the Gemini AI model to produce top-of-page AI overviews with citations. After limited trials, Google rolled out AI overviews to all U.S. users in 2024 and aims to reach over a billion people by year’s end, with ads remaining separate and publisher traffic preserved. Gemini’s…
Read more
In June 2024, a team led by Japan’s NICT and Aston University achieved 402 Tbps over a single standard optical fiber using six wavelength bands (O, E, S, C, L, and U). In March 2024, the same international team reached 301 Tbps by extending into E-band and S-band with a custom amplifier for those bands.…
Read more
