Search

This afternoon's orbital data suggests - subject to confirmation - that Russia's Kosmos-2612 has carried out a rendezvous with the US ICEYE X36 radar sat, within a few km. To my knowledge this is the first LEO rendezvous of two active sats where the owner of one of the sats did not give approval.

Steffen W. Frølund wrote that flying cars, robots, superintelligence, fast internet on planes, space travel, orbital data centers, almost limitless energy, and cures for almost all diseases could, in his assessment, become possible within his lifetime. #fremtid #teknologi #innovation (translated)

NASA has opened a call to develop the next generation of commercial space stations that will replace the International Space Station (ISS), seeking viable plans that ensure the continuity of the U.S. presence in low Earth orbit. #NASA #EstaciónEspacial #ExploraciónEspacial (translated)

This was explained on Wednesday by the Minister of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, during the presentation of the ÓrbiTA Program, which stems from the Strategic Health Plan for Children and Adolescents 2023-2027 and aims to provide a "modern and rigorous" health response to chronic adipose tissue disease in children, commonly known as childhood obesity. #ObesidadInfantil #SaludInfantil #Andalucía (translated)

The SAS will implement reviews starting at two years old to detect childhood obesity and will guarantee a specific consultation within a maximum of 15 days, as part of the new ÓrbiTA Program, which aims to provide a comprehensive and personalized approach to the treatment of this chronic disease in Andalusia. #ObesidadInfantil #SaludInfantil #Andalucía (translated)

Nacho Montes de Oca claimed that Elon Musk had used Starlink for political purposes to pressure the Ukrainian government and that it was not the first time he, according to him, had aided Vladimir Putin or followed Donald Trump's orders at a critical moment. He stated that the decision could commercially harm SpaceX by exposing it to geopolitical risks similar to those that, in his opinion, contributed to the international ban on Huawei. Montes de Oca wrote that the intermittent use of critical technological infrastructure as a tool of political or military pressure could lead Western governments to accelerate the development of sovereign networks. He also pointed out that the interruption would have forced the cancellation or failure of several Ukrainian drone missions, reduced the commercial appeal of Starlink for defense customers, and put contracts with the Pentagon and the trust of European partners at risk. Among them, he mentioned Poland, which, he indicated, financed about 50 million dollars annually in terminals for Ukraine. The author estimated the global market for military communications and satellites in 2026 to be 22.03 billion dollars, if only encrypted tactical communication services were counted. He warned that defense buyers could consider their reliance on a private provider financially risky. In his background review, Montes de Oca stated that in September 2002 Ukraine requested to activate Starlink in the region of Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, to guide maritime drones against the Russian Black Sea fleet, but Musk rejected the request. He added that on September 30 of that year, SpaceX interrupted the signal for several hours—and, in some areas, days—in the regions of Kherson and Donetsk during a Ukrainian counteroffensive, which, he wrote, left drones disconnected and temporarily halted military operations. Montes de Oca also said that the following month Musk threatened to stop providing the service because he could not finance it indefinitely and reversed the decision days later, before the Pentagon formally took over the contracts and Poland covered part of the costs. Additionally, he noted that in February 2023, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell confirmed that the company had technically limited the use of Starlink in Ukrainian attack drones and asserted that those restrictions had been tightened. Finally, he stated that Airbus was leading the European response and that, with 5.3 billion euros from the European military space program, it was designing and building low-orbit platforms for national and sovereign satellite networks. #ElonMusk #Starlink #Ucrania (translated)

An old Soviet satellite has shattered in orbit due to a collision with space debris, increasing the risk of accidents in the already crowded space, as companies and governments continue to plan the launch of tens of thousands of new satellites. #spazzaturaorbitante #satelliti #detritospaziale (translated)

The American company Reflect Orbital has designed an experimental satellite called Eärendil-1, equipped with an 18-meter mirror that will reflect sunlight to Earth at night, although scientists warn about the potential light pollution that a future constellation of these devices could cause. #ReflectOrbital #IluminaciónEspacial #ContaminaciónLumínica (translated)

Will Bruey, co-founder and CEO of Varda Space Industries, leads an innovative company valued at $1.6 billion that seeks to manufacture pharmaceuticals in orbit, taking advantage of the benefits of microgravity to improve drug crystallization. #VardaSpace #InnovaciónEspacial #FarmacéuticaOrbital (translated)

A study reveals that the stability of the Solar System could be seriously compromised in the 3 billion years following the transformation of the Sun into a white dwarf, due to expulsions of solar material that would affect the orbits of the giant planets. #SistemaSolar #Astronomía #InestabilidadOrbital (translated)

Fede Sturzenegger stated that, in the debate over the privatization of Aysa, attention should focus on the Brazilian operator Arcos and not on the local partners. According to a Latin American water specialist he had spoken to, Arcos had won a significant portion of the concessions in Brazil and had quickly improved the quality and access to the service; he described the case of Rio de Janeiro as particularly noteworthy. Sturzenegger claimed that, in his opinion, the main benefit of the process was to remove a potential focus of corruption from the state. He congratulated Luis Caputo and Diego Chaher for carrying out the privatization and thanked President Javier Milei for continuing to reduce the size of the state, something he said would contribute to a fairer country. #Privatización #Corrupción #AguasLatinoamérica (translated)

After nearly eight months in space, our undocking is scheduled for this afternoon. Our return to Earth will mark the end of the orbital phase of the #εpsilon mission, but not the end of the adventure! I can't wait to continue sharing this experience with you during the post-mission tour. #NASA #Espace #Astronautes (translated)

In 2028, an experiment will bring whisky distillation into orbit for the first time, analyzing the chemical changes of the distilled liquid exposed to the vacuum of space and opening up new possibilities in the production of complex molecules for pharmacology. #WhiskySpaziale #IngegneriaSpaziale #RicercaScientifica (translated)

"As the end of a mission approaches, one begins to think again of familiar smells, tastes, and sensations, until almost feeling them. And at the same time, I look around me and realize how much I will miss microgravity… just like this incredible view of our beautiful blue planet." In a video posted on her Instagram account, Sophie Adenot expressed her eagerness to reunite with her loved ones and enjoy a good Breton galette, but feeling a "hint of nostalgia" at the thought of leaving the orbital laboratory. #SophieAdenot #Espace #ISS (translated)

"As the end of a mission approaches, one starts to think again about familiar scents, tastes, and sensations, almost feeling them. And at the same time, I look around me and realize how much I will miss microgravity... just like this incredible view of our beautiful blue planet." In a video posted on her Instagram account, Sophie Adenot expressed her eagerness to reunite with her loved ones and enjoy a good Breton galette, but feeling a "tinge of nostalgia" at the thought of leaving the orbital laboratory. #SophieAdenot #ISS #Espace (translated)

"Second-generation planets are worlds that form from the material expelled by a star when it dies. They are incredibly rare, and finding one around a white dwarf was totally unexpected. It's like finding a planet that has emerged from the ashes of the very star it orbited," details the first author of the study, Jamie Williams, PhD student in the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick. #PlanetasDeSegundaGeneración #Astrofísica #EnanasBlancas (translated)