Items tagged with Satellite
Stratolaunch is a company founded by the late Paul G. Allen that is trying to make it easier and less costly to put satellites into orbit. Sadly the late Paul Allen didn't live to see his dream take flight, however. Unlike Elon Musk's SpaceX , the way Stratolaunch plans to put satellites into orbit has nothing to do with rockets launched from the ground; rather the company will use what it calls the "world's largest aircraft" to carry satellites as high into the atmosphere as possible, before launching them into orbit. The aircraft that will heft those satellites off the ground is called Roc, and it had its maiden flight recently. The massive aircraft sports a dual fuselage design with a large...
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Just a little over a week after making history with the successful launch of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX is once again in the news. This time around, the company has gained FCC approval to lay the groundwork for a satellite-based internet service called Starlink. When we think of satellite internet, problems with latency often crop into our minds. This is because traditional satellites that are capable of delivering internet and TV service operate in a geostationary orbit (GEO) at an altitude of around 36,000 kilometers. However, the satellites that will form the backbone off Starlink will orbit the earth at an altitude of around 1,200 kilometers. This will drastically cut the latency measured from...
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When SpaceX wants to do something, you best believe it's going to be huge. Its latest task? Trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to let it launch over 4,400 internet-beaming satellites into orbit. To put that into perspective, that's more satellites than the total number in use today. As it stands today, there are 1,419 satellites in orbit hard at work, and some other 2,600 that are inactive and just hogging a piece of space. Even combined, all those satellites still fall short of the number SpaceX wants to deploy, so to call this ambitious is a huge understatement. The goal here is to use these satellites to provide internet to all sorts of users - home and business...
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Image of the Japanese Section of the International Space Station from NASADisintegrating spaceships are not something that just happen in Kerbal Space Program. The Japanese X-Ray telescope Hitomi was declared lost after it spun out of control, was torn apart, and disintegrated on March 26th, 2016. The exact causes are unknown, however, it is suspected that the accident was due to a software failure. A quarter billion dollar satellite burning up in the atmosphere is not the kind of “hot hardware” we normally want to see.The Hitomi was originally launched to study hard X-ray sources in the galaxy. Japan’s first successful X-ray satellite, Hakucho, was launched in 1979. Other successful launches...
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Facebook has partnered with Eutelsat Communications to provide broadband Internet access to large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, which is the area of the continent that lies south of the Sahara desert. As part of the initiative, the two companies inked a multi-year agreement with Spacecom to beam broadband service from the forthcoming AMOS-6 satellite. Spacecom will also build a dedicated system comprising of satellite capacity, gateways, and terminals. In doing so, Facebook and Eutelsat will have the resources necessary to bring data connectivity to "the many users deprived of the economic and social benefits of the Internet" in Sub-Saharan Africa. The service is scheduled for deployment in the...
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Windows 10 may be a free upgrade for many of us, but Microsoft’s newest operating system still has the potential to drive PC sales. One reason some customers may decide to pick up a new system is Windows Hello, the feature that recognizes your face when you log in. Toshiba is banking on that feature being a draw for its new Satellite Radius 12 two-in-one, which is one of the smallest laptops to sport both the necessary Windows Hello hardware and a 4K display. The key to Windows Hello is the camera, which makes use of depth-sensing technology to provide Windows Hello with the image of your face that it needs. Most of today’s cameras are not up to the task, so you’ll need a system with an Intel...
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Toshiba is hitting the reset button on its notebook lineup and is launching a slew of new back-to-school products that have been designed with Windows 10 in mind. Toshiba’s Windows 10 focus comes in the form of a dedicated Cortana key and built-in TruTalk dual-array mics across the entire range to provide quick and competence performance with Microsoft’s voice assistant. As for the notebooks, the new or updated models include the Satellite C Series, L Series, S Series, Satellite Fusion, and Satellite Radius. The Satellite C Series is aimed at everyday users and is available with 15.6- and 17.3-inch HD displays, Intel or AMD power, brushed resin black matte finish, TruType keyboard, up to 1TB...
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Dish Network is in hot water with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for outright violating the agency's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), including the "Do Not Call" registry, by placing tens of millions of unsolicited calls to numbers that appear on the list. In all, Dish Network and its retail partners made some 57 million unauthorized outbound calls. The FTC is holding Dish Network responsible for illegal calls made by its vendors to numbers on the DNC registry since Dish retained the retailers, authorized the retailers to market Dish products and services, and because the retailers violated the TSR by initiating the Dish telemarketing calls to numbers on the registry.Image Source:...
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Dish Network subscribers have lost access to the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network due to a dispute in negotiations between the satellite TV provider and media conglomerate. At issue is the expired contract between the two sides and their inability to come to terms on a renewed deal, so as usual when these things drag out, the customers are caught in the middle of what ends up being a contentious battle with lots of finger pointing. Eventually the two sides will likely kiss and make up, as they almost do when contract negotiations like this reach a standstill. But in the meantime, each one is blaming the other in what amounts to a public relations war, as if customers actually care about...
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AT&T last month inked a deal with DirecTV to acquire the satellite TV service provider for around $48.5 million in a cash and stock deal. Now all that waits is regulatory approval, but one thing the suits in charge will have to figure out is what the real cost will be to consumers. One of the concerns is that deal like this could ultimately limit consumer choice. As far as AT&T is concerned, the deal is a good one for consumers because the combined companies would be able to offer lower prices on satellite TV and broadband Internet service bundles, which would then put the pressure on cable companies to cut their pricing structure, too. Image Source: Flickr (Mike Mozart) That might be...
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How do you deliver broadband Internet access to areas that are off the beaten path, both stateside and abroad? Google may have found that answer to that question by staring into space. According to several reports, the Mountain View firm is planning to spend anywhere from $1 billion to $3 billion shooting low-altitude satellites into space. The initiative is being spearheaded by Greg Wyler, founder of satellite broadband trunking provider O3b Networks, and is backed by Google, which is a shareholder in the company. Along with a few other strategic partners, they've created an company referred to as L5 in regulatory filings and registered as WorldVu Satellites Ltd. in St. Helier, Jersey. Image...
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An abandoned NASA satellite is under new management. After floating in space without a mission for 17 years, the International Solar-Environment Explorer (ISEE-3) has been brought out of retirement by a group of scientists and engineers who used their spare time to reestablish contact with the satellite. The ISEE-3 Reboot Project, which is being supported by Space College, Skycorp, and SpaceRef, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign in May that raised nearly $160,000. NASA is aware of the project and, in fact, Mission Control for this venture is located on the NASA campus, at “McMoons,” which is a former McDonald’s and a haven for serious space enthusiasts. Mission Control for...
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When it rains, it pours. Toshiba took the wraps off half a dozen refreshed and new mobile devices today, including convertible and detachable laptops, Windows tablets, and a bargain-basement Android tablet. The laptops will start dropping in June, followed by the tablets in July, in plenty of time for students gearing up for fall classes. Arriving in June are the Satellite Radius and Satellite Click 2 Pro laptops, both of which have touchscreens and run Windows. As a convertible, the Radius can be used as a laptop or folded back for a tablet-like experience. It has a 1920 x 1080 resolution display and some enticing components, including (up to) a Core-i7 processor and 8GB of RAM, as well as a...
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It's official -- AT&T has agreed to acquire DirecTV, the largest satellite TV provider in the U.S. with 20 million customers, for approximately $48.5 billion. It's a stock-and-cash transaction deal worth $95 per share based on AT&T 's Friday closing price, which represents a 10 percent premium. DirecTV shareholders will receive $28.50 per share in cash and $66.50 per share in AT&T stock. That equates to an equity value of $48.5 billion, and a total transaction value of $67.1 billion, including DirecTV's net debt. AT&T plans to finance the cash portion of the deal through a combination of cash on hand, sale of non-core assets, committed financing facilities, and opportunistic debt...
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