Author: starpathwp-production
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First Vulcan Centaur Launch Slips to 2024, ULA Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal
ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket won’t debut until early 2024, after it encountered routine issues during the first wet dress rehearsal. ULA announced Thursday that it fixed the issues, ran a successful wet dress rehearsal, and is now targeting a Jan. 8 launch date. The launcher was previously targeting a Christmas Eve debut. CEO Tory Bruno…
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First Vulcan Centaur Launch Slips to 2024, ULA Completes Wet Dress Rehearsal
ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket won’t debut until early 2024, after it encountered routine issues during the first wet dress rehearsal. ULA announced Thursday that it fixed the issues, ran a successful wet dress rehearsal, and is now targeting a Jan. 8 launch date. The launcher was previously targeting a Christmas Eve debut. CEO Tory Bruno…
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SUIT Instrument On Board ISRO’s Aditya-L1 Spacecraft Captures Full-Disk Images of the Sun
The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) instrument on board the Aditya-L1 spacecraft has successfully captured the first full-disk images of the Sun in the 200-400 nm wavelength range. SUIT captures images of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere in this wavelength range using various scientific filters. On November 20, 2023, the SUIT payload was powered ON.…
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Thuraya Releases New Version of Satellite Phone
Thuraya is releasing a new generation version of its XT-PRO DUAL satellite phone. It is a dual-mode, dual-SIM satellite-cellular phone that allows users to move in and out of terrestrial coverage and seamlessly connect regardless of their location. The Thuraya XT-PRO DUAL will be available from mid-December 2023 onwards, and pre-orders are open via Thuraya’s…
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FCC denies Starlink of $900 million subsidy, because it was too early
FCC denies Starlink’s appeal to 2022 decision In a 3-2 vote down party lines, the FCC decided to reaffirm its denial of Starlink, SpaceX’s LEO satellite internet service, of a $886 million subsidy. The subsidy would have come through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, which aimed to bring high speed internet to primarily rural…
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Effects of Falcon Heavy launch delay could ripple to downstream missions
SpaceX and the US Space Force thought they were ready to launch the military’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane this week, but ground teams in Florida need to roll the Falcon Heavy rocket back into its hangar for servicing. This is expected to push back the launch until at least late December, perhaps longer. SpaceX and Space…
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Amazon reveals a secret about its Project Kuiper satellites: They’re using laser links
This graphic shows how Project Kuiper would use optical signaling between satellites. (Amazon Illustration) Ending years of speculation, Amazon has acknowledged that its Project Kuiper satellites will use laser-based links to communicate with each other, and says the system has already been successfully tested in orbit. Such a system — known as optical inter-satellite links,…
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AFRL’s Oracle Family of Systems to Develop Cislunar Space Situational Awareness Capability
Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, has unveiled two programs, Defense Deep Space Sentinel, or D2S2, and Oracle, to develop cislunar space situational awareness, or SSA, capabilities. Both programs are now under a single umbrella known as the Oracle family of systems, with D2S2 renamed Oracle Mobility, or Oracle-M, and the original Oracle gaining the designation “Prime,”…
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New survey: Nearly 30% of ESA workers experience workplace harassment
According to a new internal survey conducted by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) staff association, about 30 percent of ESA’s employees have either experienced or witnessed harassment in the workplace. The survey, published internally on December 6 and seen by Ars Technica, confirms the findings of our recent investigation into allegations of harassment and bullying…
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SpaceX plans rapid increase in West Coast launch cadence
50 launches in 2024, 100 in 2025 This year SpaceX pushed to attempt 100 launches in a single year. Thanks to the need to deploy as many Starlink satellites as possible, the company is getting extremely close to that goal as we close out the year. That push has seen increases in launches from both…