By 2025 Elon Musk wants to launch 12,000 satellites and corner the global Internet market. What will be lost is earth-based astronomy, the idea that space belongs to us all and the beauty of a starry sky.
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Articles on Satellites
Displaying 1 - 20 of 110 articles
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn't just disrupted our lives. It has also challenged the way we forecast the weather.
SpaceX and other companies are rushing to put thousands of small, inexpensive satellites in orbit, but pressure to keep costs low and a lack of regulation leave those satellites vulnerable to hackers.
Two defunct satellites passed within metres of one another, prompting renewed focus on the dangers of space debris. But with many satellites treated as military secrets, how do we track the hazards?
Free space optical communication will allow the same connectivity in space we already have on Earth. And this will provide benefits across a number of sectors.
India may soon follow in the footsteps of Asian space giants China and India, after the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) announced a plan to build a spaceport in Papua.
Are India and China engaged in a new space race? India's increasingly ambitious space ventures, including its Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission, are evidence of the country's interest in space exploration.
We have developed an online tool to help authorities identify which areas they should focus on for reducing forest fires and haze in order to maximize overall health benefits.
Climate change threatens the water supply of nations around the world. But it's difficult to measure whether a region has sufficient water to satisfy the people who live there. Could satellites help?
Satellites monitor climate change, guide people with GPS and keep us connected through texts and social media, but they're under threat.
The future of lunar exploration and space travel will be possible only through advances in robotic design and implementation.
The technologies behind weather forecasting, GPS and even smartphones can trace their origins to the race to the Moon.
Population growth is creating a huge demand for infrastructure, even as environmental risks grow. To detect problems early, satellites can provide rich data to help assess infrastructure "health".
The first 60 satellites from Elon Musk's planned low orbit internet network have lit up the skies. But with more planned, astronomers say the satellites could ruin their work.
India, China, the United States and Russia can now precisely target objects in space. But we currently lack appropriate rules and regulations to deal with space weapons.
On 27 March, India announced it had successfully conducted an anti-satellite missile test, Mission Shakti. India is now the fourth country in the world displaying this capability.
Since 2008, Landsat data has been free for the world to use, spurring new applications and scientific research. But that door could soon slam shut.
Satellites hundreds of miles overheard are helping scientists to predict drought, track floods and see how climate change is changing access to water resources.
The flood zone around Townsville extends for hundreds of kilometres, making monitoring difficult even from the air. But scientists are testing a new satellite method that can peer through the clouds.
New satellite-based research shows there is at least as much value in knowing how much water is left for plants to use as there is in knowing how much rain may be on the way.
Top contributors
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Andrew Dempster is a Friend of The Conversation.Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW
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PhD candidate, law and military uses of outer space, University of Adelaide
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Associate professor in astronomy, Monash University
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Alice Gorman is a Friend of The Conversation.
Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
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Senior Research Fellow in Law, University of Oxford
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Space Plasma Physicist, Queen Mary University of London
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Director - Networked Society Institute and Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Melbourne
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Adjunct Professor, School of Computer and Security Science, Edith Cowan University
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Professor, UNSW
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Professor of Law, University of Adelaide
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Professor of Astrobiology, UNSW
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Associate professor, RMIT University
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Professor emeritus, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University
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Associate Professor in Space Science, University of South Australia
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Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University
