Satellites
Satellite Image of the “Polar Vortex” Over the US
If you live in the north and eastern part of the US, you’re probably experiencing some frigid weather. You’re probably…
‘Force Field’ Could Protect New Weather Satellite, Future Human Missions
OTTAWA, CANADA -- A new Canadian satellite -- should it launch -- might carry a sort of magnetized force field…
GOCE Satellite Plunges Back to Earth Without Incident
ESA’s GOCE satellite has reentered Earth’s atmosphere, with most of the spacecraft disintegrating high in the atmosphere. There have been…
GOCE Spacecraft Will Likely Make Uncontrolled Re-entry This Weekend
The Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite has been orbiting Earth in super-low orbits since 2009, mapping…
How Many Satellites are in Space?
The space age began on October 4, 1957 with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. This tiny…
Could The U.S. Government Shutdown Hammer Earth and Mars Missions?
As Day 2 of the United States government shutdown continues, some short-term effects are already in evidence when it comes…
Advanced Satellite Blasts Off from Cape Canaveral: Launch Gallery
Early this morning a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral in a gorgeous pre-dawn launch,…
How to Spot and Track Satellites
It’s a question we get all the time. Watch the sky closely in the dawn or dusk hours, and you’ll…
How Many Moons Does Earth Have?
Look up into the night sky and count the moons. You can see only one moon, "the" Moon. But does…
How the Fermi Spacecraft Almost Got Taken Out by a Relic of the Cold War
As a space telescope scientist or satellite operator, the last thing you want to hear is that your expensive and…