Science

PARIS — Viasat took a step closer to buying London-based Inmarsat Sept. 16 after the British government ruled it poses no risk to the U.K.’s national security. The government found sufficient measures in place to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access, and to continue the provision of strategic capabilities to the U.K. following the merger.

Come from away: photos of some of the many DIY Kibble balances around the world that were inspired by the LEGO balance built at NIST. (Courtesy: B Hayes/NIST) We do love a good LEGO story here at Physics World. Indeed, this is the 55th article on the plastic blocks that we have published on the

WASHINGTON — The Space Systems Command, the Space Development Agency and the Missile Defense Agency have formed a new program office to coordinate disparate procurements of satellites to detect ballistic and hypersonic missiles. The Space Systems Command (SSC), the procurement arm of the U.S. Space Force, announced the realignment Sept. 15.  The combined program office

PARIS — Satellite radar startups disagree over how much of their resources should be moved to meet anticipated demand from commercial customers and away from governments, which today provide the bulk of revenues. Executives of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) companies Capella Space, Umbra, and Synspective discussed diverging growth strategies Sept. 16 during World Satellite Business

Researchers in the United Kingdom are facing an uncertain future, due to a political spat about the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe – Europe’s flagship research funding programme. Following Brexit, the UK was set to become an official associate within the scheme, which brings funding and leadership opportunities within European projects. This is now threatened by

NGA’s Dave Gauthier: ‘We have some obligation to think about commercial protection’ NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — U.S. defense and intelligence agencies that increasingly rely on commercial satellites for imagery and other services are discussing how they might compensate companies if their spacecraft is damaged during an armed conflict, officials said Sept. 15. If private sector

PARIS — Spire Global said Sept. 15 it will build three 16U cubesats launching in 2023 to expand Canadian greenhouse gas-monitoring operator GHGSat’s constellation. The three satellites, each the size of 16 cubesats, are slated to join the six similarly sized spacecraft that GHGSat currently operates in low Earth orbit. Joel Spark, co-founder and general

Star figure: Athene Donald speaking at a gala dinner in the fellows’ dining room at Churchill College Cambridge on 12 September 2022 to mark her retirement after a glittering career in physics (Courtesy: Matin Durrani) Over the years I’ve attended countless scientific conferences devoted to everything from astronomy to particle physics. As an editor, I’m

SDA’s second batch of Tranche 0 is still on track to launch in March WASHINGTON — The first launch of the Space Development Agency’s low Earth orbit satellites that had been scheduled for late September is slipping to no earlier than mid-December.  Speaking at the Washington Space Business Roundtable Sept. 14, SDA Director Derek Tournear

PARIS — Regional satellite operators are searching for faster ways to add more capacity to their networks to meet soaring demand for broadband, according to executives speaking at World Satellite Business Week here. Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat is in talks to buy Ka-band capacity in the Middle East and Africa from another operator while it waits

Two-in-one sensor: Team leader Jun Yao (left) and first author Hongyan Gao, a PhD student in electrical and computer engineering, have developed a new tool for improved cardiac studies. (Courtesy: Jun Yao) A team of US-based researchers has developed an innovative nanoelectronic sensor that simultaneously measures electrical and mechanical activity in heart cells – paving

, Aalyri won an $8 million contract from the Defense Innovation Unit to prototype a hybrid communications network WASHINGTON — Aalyri Technologies, a startup that emerged from stealth mode Sept. 13, plans to provide high-speed internet using software and networking technology from Google’s ill-fated project to beam internet service from high-altitude balloons. Founded by former U.S.

PARIS – Skyloom and Space Compass, a joint venture between NTT and Sky Perfect JSAT, plan to establish a constellation to relay data from low Earth orbit to the ground through satellites in geostationary orbit. It was the latest entry in an increasingly crowded field of companies seeking to address growing demand from satellite operators

Diamonds from plastic A powerful laser was fired at a thin piece of PET plastic, generating a shock wave that created nanodiamonds. (Courtesy: HZDR / Blaurock) Firing powerful laser pulses at pieces of plastic has provided new insights into how diamonds could form and rain down on ice-giant planets such as Neptune and Uranus. The

PARIS, France — OneWeb is considering plans for a second-generation constellation jointly with Eutelsat ahead of closing their proposed merger, executives for the satellite operators said Sept. 12. The companies “do not need to wait” for the six to nine months it could take for their merger to clear shareholder and regulatory approvals, OneWeb CEO

PARIS – The quest for enhanced space-based computing and data storage is extending to lunar missions. Skycorp announced plans Sept. 12 to send a commercial solid-state drive from Taiwan-based Phison Electronics Corp. to the moon next year. Ramon.Space unveiled plans Sept. 7 to provide a computing technology for a lander being developed for Israel’s Beresheet

Carbon capture: A study finds heating, travel and commuting are the biggest contributors to lab carbon emissions (Courtesy: iStock/Griffin24) Researchers in France have developed a new open-source tool to help scientists understand and reduce the carbon footprint of their labs. From the 500 or so labs that have already used the tool – called GES