Science

Canada had cut off Ukraine’s flow of RADARSAT-2 in 2016 VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada’s MDA Corp. will provide satellite radar imagery to Ukraine’s government to help it counter Russia’s invasion of that country. Mike Greenley, chief executive officer of MDA, released a statement March 8 that the company has secured special authorization from the

WASHINGTON — New trade sanctions aimed at Russia’s space sector were announced March 9 by UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.  While the announcement focused on new aviation sanctions strengthening an overflight and landing ban imposed on Russian aircraft in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, additional trade measures “will prevent UK exports of aviation or space-related

Taken from the March 2022 issue of Physics World, where it appeared under the headline “Disaster signalling”. Members of the Institute of Physics can enjoy the full issue via the Physics World app. Robert P Crease wonders what lessons we can learn from movies about comets and asteroids heading towards Earth

WASHINGTON — Astra Space said March 7 it identified two problems that led to the failure of a launch last month as the company gears up for a new launch that may be imminent. In a March 7 statement, the company said an investigation into a Feb. 10 failure of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle to

Flux tracker: a sample is inserted into the experimental setup to track the exciton flux when the acoustic waves are applied. (Courtesy: Silvia Cardarelli/University of Michigan) Dynamically-controlled exciton transport has been demonstrated in a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) using surface acoustic waves (SAWs). Researchers in the US and Japan used the SAWs to induce

TAMPA, Fla. — Intelsat has picked former Raytheon executive David Wajsgras as CEO to lead the satellite operator post-bankruptcy. Wajsgras will take the helm April 4 to replace Stephen Spengler, who announced plans to retire in October after more than 18 years at Intelsat. Spengler has been CEO of Intelsat for nearly seven years. His departure comes soon

Verification of satellites’ data and networking capabilities could lead to role in Chinese megaconstellation project. HELSINKI — China  launched a set of commercial satellites Saturday for testing broadband services, on-orbit networking and integrating communications and remote sensing technologies. A Long March 2C lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:01

Neurons in the mouse brain: The Chalasani lab made specific neurons (magenta) express the protein TRPA1 (white), so they can be activated by ultrasound. (Courtesy: Salk Institute) A US-based research team has developed a new “sonogenetic” technique to activate and control mammalian cells with sound – potentially paving the way for innovative non-invasive versions of

What it will take to make DoD constellations more resilient and achieve space superiority is still being debated, industry executives said. ORLANDO, Fla. — An often-heard complaint about U.S. military satellites is that they’re not resilient — which generally means they don’t have enough protections against modern electronic jammers, advanced lasers and cyber hacks.  This

A national space program and corporate reform are two major steps to finally cut ties with Ukraine’s Soviet past and to shift the Ukrainian space industry to a new corporate model.  It’s hard to imagine, but right now, the Ukrainian army, and citizens in every city putting their lives on the line, are holding back

(Courtesy: iStock/MaYcaL) Physics World is providing regular updates on the response of the physics community to the unfolding Russian invasion of Ukraine and how international collaborations and projects in Europe and beyond are affected. See previous updates here. 05/03/2022:  ●   The Breakthrough Prize Foundation, which was inaugurated in 2012 by the Israeli-Russian venture-capitalist Yuri Milner, says

WASHINGTON — Citing Starlink jamming “near conflict areas,” Elon Musk said March 5 that SpaceX will be “reprioritzed to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming” at the expense of “slight delays” in Starship and Starlink V2. In a series of overnight tweets, Musk, founder and chief executive of SpaceX, said the company was shifting its

SAN FRANCISCO – GPS radio frequency interference can signal impending military activity. HawkEye 360 proved that point in a March 4 news release on GPS interference in and around Ukraine over the last four months. Prior to the Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the Herndon, Virginia-based geospatial analytics company noted continual and increasing GPS

Two is company: artist’s impression shows what HR 6819 might look like. It is composed of an oblate “vampire” star with a disc around it, and a star in the background that has been stripped of its atmosphere. (Courtesy: ESO/L Calçada) Black holes can be difficult to spot for the obvious reason that they don’t

Guetlein wants “system of systems integration.” The previous organization focused on “system by system and not an integrated capability” ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Space Systems Command — the Space Force organization that oversees procurement of new technology — is being restructured in an effort to re-energize the bureaucracy and bring fresh focus on the

Kendall: ‘When you look at it objectively, China is a much greater strategic threat than Russia is’ ORLANDO, Fla. — Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall dropped a hint about the forthcoming U.S. national security strategy:  “Russia and other threats will not be discounted, but China, with both regional and global ambitions, the resources to pursue

Space junk – debris left by humans in space – is a growing danger for satellites and space missions orbiting the Earth. It turns out that the Moon also has space junk and in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, Roberto Furfaro and Vishnu Reddy of the University of Arizona talk about the

TAMPA, Fla. — OneWeb is considering American, European, Indian and Japanese rockets for launching its remaining 220 satellites after the company announced March 3 that it would stop using Russia’s Soyuz rocket. OneWeb, which is partly owned by the British government, has launched 428 of a planned 648 broadband satellites aboard Soyuz rockets under a