Science

TAMPA, Fla. — Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed new rules May 29 to cover the risk of debris-generating accidental explosions in space. The new rules would require applicants to assess and limit the probability of accidental explosions to less than one in a thousand for each satellite they submit for approval. The probability metric
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TAMPA, Fla. — A communications satellite order from Japan’s flagship operator has brought the geostationary orbit (GEO) market back to par with last year. SKY Perfect JSAT said May 27 it had ordered the JSAT-31 satellite from Europe’s Thales Alenia Space for a launch in 2027 to provide broadband across Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast
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HELSINKI — A Chinese firm linked to commercial rocket maker Landspace has filed a notification with the ITU for a constellation comprising 10,000 satellites. Shanghai Lanjian Hongqing Technology Company, also known as Hongqing Technology, filed an Advance Publication Information (API) with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) May 24.  The filing outlines plans for a constellation
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HELSINKI — China’s experimental reusable spacecraft has released an unknown object into orbit while conducting its third mission. U.S. Space Force space domain awareness teams cataloged the object as 59884 (International designator 2023-195G). The suspected spaceplane launched Dec. 14, 2023 and has been in orbit 164 days. The object appears to have been released May
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is soliciting bids from commercial satellite manufacturers for a 10-year procurement of small satellites to carry experimental payloads to space. The Space Test Program office on May 23 issued its final request for proposals for the Space Test Experiments Platform (STEP) 2.0 contract — an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ)
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Ants that drink a caffeinated solution can locate sweet rewards faster than un-caffeinated ants, suggesting the drug boosts learning. To see how Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) respond to caffeine, researchers created an ant-sized arena on a sheet of printer paper in the lab. They then placed a drop of sugary solution on the paper for
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force announced the selection of six companies to develop proposals for a electromagnetic warfare (EW) training range designed to simulate space combat scenarios. In a statement May 22, the Space Force said this specialized environment will be crucial for training service personnel, known as guardians, to defend critical satellites and
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