Copernical Team
Starlinks can produce surprisingly bright flares for pilots
How can sunlight reflecting off SpaceX's Starlink satellites interfere with ground-based operations? This is what a study recently posted to the arXiv preprint server hopes to address as a pair of researchers investigate how Starlink satellites appear brighter—which the researchers also refer to as flaring—to observers on Earth when the sun is at certain angles, along with discussing past incidents of how this brightness has influenced aerial operations on Earth.
This study holds the potential to help spacecraft manufacturers design and develop specific methods to prevent increased brightness levels, which would help alleviate confusion for observers on Earth regarding the source of the brightness and the objects in question.
Here, Universe Today discusses this research with Anthony Mallama of the IAU—Center for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference regarding the motivation behind the study, significant results, potential follow-up studies, importance of studying Starlink satellite brightness, and implications for managing satellite constellations in the future.
Last look at EarthCARE
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Last look at EarthCARE Saudi fund launches new group to boost space industry
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF)on Monday launched the Neo Space Group to work on the kingdom's nascent satellite and space industry, its first investment in the sector.
One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, the PIF has already invested heavily in sports, gaming and so-called Saudi giga-projects including Neom, a $500-billion futuristic megacity under construction in the desert.
The Neo Space Group or NSG is the "PIF's first investment focused on the space industry", the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement.
It "aims to develop and enhance commercial space operations in Saudi Arabia, providing innovative satellite and space solutions locally and globally", the PIF said.
It will also "invest in localization, technology, start-ups, and knowledge in the space and satellite sector in Saudi Arabia" in the latest bid to boost economic diversification.
Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, Saudi Arabia has sought both to open up and diversify its oil-reliant economy.
From world-class footballers to a new national airline and even a speciality shop serving camel milk gelato, the PIF has splashed billions on acquisitions intended to support diversification.
NASA's Europa Clipper makes cross-country flight to Florida
Assembled at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the spacecraft arrived at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23 for launch preparations.
NASA's Europa Clipper, a spacecraft designed to investigate Jupiter's icy moon Europa and its potential to support life, arrived in Florida on Thursday, May 23. The spacecraft, assembled at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, landed aboard a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Ariane 6 infographic: participating states
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Ariane 6 infographic: participating states Unlocking the secrets of supercritical fluids
A study now published in Nature Communications provides new insights into the behavior of supercritical fluids, a state of matter between liquids and gases, with applications ranging from the pharmaceutical industry to planetary science. The findings, achieved at the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), were at the limits of current experimental possibilities.
A supercritical fluid is a substance Earth Observation advances with Marble Imaging and Reflex Aerospace partnership
Marble Imaging, supported by Reflex Aerospace, aims to transform the Earth Observation (EO) industry with a constellation of up to 200 small satellites. This initiative seeks to position Marble Imaging as Europe's leading EO company, offering very-high resolution (VHR) images of the entire planet daily. Reflex Aerospace, a German satellite manufacturer, provides satellite platforms known for the Space Force plans to fill Satellite Procurement Gap with Space Test Experiments Platform
The Space Test Program (STP) office has released the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Space Test Experiments Platform (STEP) 2.0 contract. This move enables STP to secure complete solutions for the U.S. Space Force's Science and Technology (S and T) experiments.
"The DoD Space Test Program is looking to leverage all the successes from industry to provide proven spacecraft to host the DoD Meteor captured by weather satellite
A meteor recently lit up the skies over Spain and Portugal, and was also captured by the Meteosat Third Generation Imager weather satellite hovering 36,000 km away in geostationary orbit.
"While a meteor lit up the skies over Spain and Portugal recently, it was also captured by the Meteosat Third Generation Imager weather satellite hovering 36,000 km away in geostationary orbit."
On NASA launches ground-breaking climate change satellite
A tiny NASA satellite was launched Saturday from New Zealand with the mission of improving climate change prediction by measuring heat escaping from Earth's poles for the first time.
"This new information - and we've never had it before - will improve our ability to model what's happening in the poles, what's happening in climate," NASA's earth sciences research director Karen St. Germain