The Telstar 1 satellite inspired a chart-topping pop tune, the iconic black-and-white hexagonal Adidas soccer ball, and maybe even a Doctor Who creature, the Mecanoids.
National Physical Laboratory
It promises to be one of the brightest objects in the night sky once the Mayak satellite unfolds a giant pyramid reflector. But what is it going to do?
Tiny CubeSats are ready to be our eyes in the skies.
Earth Background: NASA; HARP Spacecraft: SDL; Montage: Martins, UMBC
As technology advances, tiny satellites no bigger than a loaf of bread have advanced from just proving they work to being big contributors in answering science questions.
CubeSats upon release from the International Space Station.
NASA Johnson
Just about anyone can get a tiny, cheap satellite into orbit these days. As we consider how to deploy them responsibly, inspiration comes from an amateur community of enthusiasts.
A bright meteor lit up the sky across Australia last night, grabbing the attention of anyone who happened to be outdoors. Seen around 10pm AEST, it was intensely bright and slow moving, with many observers…
From stardust we come, to stardust we go.
EPA/Sergei Ilnitsky
Seasoned observers of the United Nations generally regard the organisation’s lofty aspirations to the “betterment of humankind” and the eternal pursuit of “peace and security” as just the rhetorical tokens…
Most of the time we take light for granted. It arrives with the sunrise everyday and we turn it on with a flick of a switch every night. It appears to be ephemeral and benign to us humans but there is…
It’s been decades since our last foray outside Earth’s orbit - but what’s next for humankind?
P.O. Arnäs
The United Nations’ Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is meeting in Vienna this week, and representatives of 74 countries will discuss, among other things, how to ensure space is maintained…
The impact on society from the next solar maximum is predicted to be worse than the last.
NASA
Over the past few months our planet has been impacted by an increasing number of solar explosions that have erupted from the sun’s surface. Even though next year’s predicted solar maximum – the period…
Unless something is done about space junk, it might become too unsafe to have satellites in Low-Earth Orbit.
ESA
At some point in the next few months, Australia will get its first ever national space policy. The release of the report, following consultation by experts in the space industry, will be a defining moment…
The amateur radio satellite, Australis Oscar V, is an important part of our spacefaring history.
Alice Gorman
A few weeks ago astronauts on the International Space Station hid in escape capsules following concerns a piece of space junk was going to collide with the station. The collision didn’t eventuate but the…
There’s all kinds of rubbish in orbit, and it can cause serious damage.
James Vallejo
In mid-February, the Swiss Space Centre announced a plan to start removing space debris from orbit. Their proposal involved using a satellite, called CleanSpace One, to approach, grapple and then “de-orbit…
Nearly 8,000 objects have been identified for possible collision with Earth.
Pat Dalton...
In the past six months, it seems something has fallen from the sky every second minute. In September, the UARS satellite re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a media frenzy. In October, the German…
Look on the bright side, earthlings: it’ll probably never happen.
Shanon Wise
You might want to look up. Or maybe not. At some point between now and Saturday, a 6.5 tonne, bus-sized NASA satellite will burst through Earth’s atmosphere, breaking into fiery chunks that could land…
NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere tomorrow afternoon.
NASA/http://www.nasa.gov
A defunct NASA satellite is expected to fall to Earth some time tomorrow afternoon but the US space agency has said it’s not yet clear where the space junk will land. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite…
A computer-generated artists impression of the thousands of objects in orbit around Earth.
AFP
Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957 – the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 – countries around the world have been putting satellites and spacecraft into Earth orbit. While the majority of…