The U.S. military is looking into putting “orbital warehouses” into orbit around Earth where fuel and other materials could be stored for easy pickup by future spacecraft on satellite servicing missions. A new U.S. military challenge aims to “accelerate operational logistics” for to help the U.S. Space Force keep its satellites active and respond in […]
Read MoreTag: Satellites
MIT astronomers discover the earliest known flickering quasar
A supermassive black hole lies at the heart of every galaxy, including the Milky Way. When a black hole is active, it pulls material in as a whirpool of high-temperature gas and dust. As this cosmic material piles up and falls onto a black hole, it lights up its vicinity, radiating a huge amount of energy. […]
Read MoreSpaceX wins $4 billion Space Force contract for satellites that target ‘airborne threats’ anywhere on Earth
The U.S Space Force has awarded SpaceX $4.16 billion to help the military track airborne targets using satellites. The massive contract is under the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program, which will add space systems to the U.S. military’s tracking capabilities. SpaceX is the first of nine companies that Space Force has disclosed for […]
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New propulsion system could make tiny satellites both fast and fuel-efficient
MIT engineers are testing a new propulsion system that combines the power and speed of conventional chemical thrusters with the precision and fuel-efficiency of electrical thrusters. The system could enable the design of nimbler, more flexible small satellites, which could perform both fast, powerful maneuvers and slower, precise adjustments, depending on the mission and moment […]
Read MoreCompanies like SpaceX want electromagnetic catapults on the moon. Could they be used as weapons?
A new report stresses the strategic and security implications of placing mass drivers on the moon — essentially electromagnetic catapults — by arguing that these launchers could serve as valuable first strike weapons systems. According to the theory behind them, these mass drivers could use powerful magnetic fields to throw satellites and other probes into […]
Read MoreDARPA readies robotic deep-space repair satellite for 2026 launch
DARPA is at last ready to test fueling up satellites in faraway Earth orbits, to keep those machines working a little bit longer. DARPA’s (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) long-delayed Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellite (RSGS) demonstrator is slated to launch as soon as this summer, the U.S. military’s research and development group stated in […]
Read MoreSpace debris is forcing satellites to dodge more often — costing us vital science. ‘Things will get worse before they get better’
On the morning of Jan. 8, 2025, a red dot popped up on NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System. It was the first sign of what would become one of California’s worst wildfires in history, going on to claim a dozen lives and burn down thousands of homes in the Palisades. All the while, […]
Read MoreSpaceX Starlink and other satellite megaconstellations are creating an ‘unregulated geoengineering experiment’, scientists say
Space industry aficionados have big plans. They talk about the not so distant future when hundreds of thousands or even millions of satellites orbit planet Earth, beaming the internet to the unconnected, processing data in orbital computer centers, generating solar power and more. But this ambitious vision, which many in the sector think will become […]
Read MoreEarth photobombs a satellite deploying its giant reflector | Space photo of the day for May 14, 2026
ViaSat’s ViaSat-3 F2 satellite fully deployed its reflector with Earth in the background. (Image credit: ViaSat) Earth watched on as a communications satellite deployed its big reflector more than 22,000 miles (35,400 kilometers) away. The satellite, ViaSat-3 F2, just deployed its large reflector after launching last November. In an image shared by the company Viasat […]
Read MoreCost estimate for ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system balloons to $1.2 trillion
President Trump’s Golden Dome may end up being quite a bit more expensive than originally thought. A new report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates it will cost about $1.2 trillion to deploy the Golden Dome missile defense system and operate it for 20 years. That’s more than double the CBO estimate from […]
Read MoreThese 2 companies want to start removing space junk from orbit in 2027
Two private companies are partnering up to establish a repeatable debris removal service for low Earth orbit. The U.S. firm Portal Space Systems and Australian startup Paladin Space are working together to establish the commercial Debris Removal as a Service (DRAAS) for removing multiple debris objects during a single mission. The partnership, which Portal announced […]
Read MoreFormer NASA chief Jim Bridenstine takes over as CEO of Quantum Space
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has a new gig. Jim Bridenstine, who ran the space agency from April 2018 through January 2021, was announced today (May 5) as the new CEO of Quantum Space, a company developing maneuverable spacecraft for use by the U.S. military and commercial operators. “Jim is a transformational leader and has […]
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US Space Force wants space-based missile interceptors for Golden Dome ready by 2028
The United States Space Force has created a new program to develop space-based missile interceptors, with the goal of being able to demonstrate their capability within two years. The U.S. Space Force established the Space-Based Interceptor (SBI) program in order to develop a constellation of spacecraft that can defend the United States against “a new […]
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Blue Origin’s Failure May Hamstring NASA’s Moon Plans
A rocket built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company appeared to launch perfectly on Sunday, its booster even landing successfully on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A few hours later, however, it became clear that all had not gone well. The massive New Glenn rocket had failed in its primary task: putting a […]
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Managing traffic in space
Chances are, you’ve already used a satellite today. Satellites make it possible for us to stream our favorite shows, call and text a friend, check weather and navigation apps, and make an online purchase. Satellites also monitor the Earth’s climate, the extent of agricultural crops, wildlife habitats, and impacts from natural disasters. As we’ve found […]
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Private Japanese spacecraft will inspect 2 dead satellites in 2027
Japanese space-sustainability company Astroscale has unveiled plans for a mission it says will be the world’s first to inspect multiple defunct satellites in different orbits. The mission, named In‑situ Space Situational Awareness-Japan 1, or ISSA-J1, is scheduled for launch in 2027 and will inspect two retired Japanese satellites in orbit. It follows the success of […]
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Space combat was ‘critical to mission success’ in US war in Iran, Space Force chief says
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The head of the U.S. Space Force said the United States’ ongoing war in Iran shows the service has become a fully “combat credible” force. Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations (CSO) for the U.S. Space Force, touted the service’s newly evolved combat abilities in an address on Wednesday (April […]
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Flying at the edge of the stratosphere
All the ingredients to leave the first layer of the atmosphere were laying on a picnic table. T-minus 30 minutes before launch from the New York Catskills, students in MIT’s reborn 16.00 (Introduction to Aerospace Engineering) course tore open hand warmers to fight the December morning chill. One hot pack for cold hands. One for […]
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‘It probably will start a precedent’: Why satellite company’s withholding of Iran imagery has this expert worried
The Earth-observation company Planet Labs is withholding its satellite imagery of Iran indefinitely. In response to a request from the U.S. government, Planet Labs made a decision not to share photos of Iran as well as the larger conflict region in the Middle East indefinitely, the California company shared in an April 5 statement emailed […]
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Bridging space research and policy
While earning her dual master’s degrees in aeronautics and astronautics and public policy, Carissma McGee SM ’25 learned to navigate between two seemingly distinct worlds, bridging rigorous technical analysis and policy decisions. As an undergraduate congressional intern and researcher, she saw a persistent gap in space policymaking. Policymakers often lacked technical expertise, while researchers were […]
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A satellite just captured images of a tsunami being born. Here’s why that’s a big deal
Late on July 29, 2025, the Earth’s crust off of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula ruptured. Deep beneath the Pacific, along a subduction zone where one tectonic plate dives beneath another, a strain that had built up over decades was released in seconds. That rupture, a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake, displaced the seafloor and the water column […]
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Two physicists and a curious host walk into a studio…
This March on The Curiosity Desk, GBH’s daily science show with host Edgar B. Herwick III, MIT scientists dropped by to address the questions: “How close are we to observing the dark universe?” (Thursday, March 12 episode) and “Is Earth prepared for asteroids?” (Thursday, March 26 episode). Up first, Prof. Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the […]
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Investigating Antarctic ice shelf melting with global navigation satellite systems
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which include GPS, are traditionally used for positioning, timing, and mapping information. In an open-access study published Feb. 27 in Geophysical Research Letters, MIT Haystack Observatory scientists report using existing GNSS satellites, in conjunction with 13 stations installed on the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) in Antarctica, to measure atmospheric turbulence above the […]
Read More‘This is really intolerable’: Astronomers protest giant orbiting mirror project and SpaceX’s million AI satellites
Astronomers are up in arms, protesting against a proposed constellation of tens of thousands of orbiting mirrors intended to reflect light onto ground-based solar power plants and SpaceX’s envisioned one million orbiting data centers. The projects, which have been put forward to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval, would destroy the night sky […]
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SpaceX launches two Starlink satellite groups 19 hours apart
SpaceX began and ended the day with Starlink launches. The company sent two Falcon 9 rockets soaring, first from Florida before sunrise on Tuesday (April 14), and then from California after sunset the same day (by local time zone). Both launches were successful, according to SpaceX. First up, were 29 of the broadband internet relay […]
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Satellites watch as bomb cyclone hits northeast U.S. with snow and lightning
Since Sunday (Feb. 22) evening, an aggressive blizzard has been inundating the northeast U.S. with piles of snow and wind speeds rivaling those of a hurricane. For instance, according to CNN, Montauk Point in New York reported the fastest winds as of Monday (Feb. 23) at 84 miles (135 kilometers) per hour. And as it […]
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Elon Musk wants to put 1 million AI satellites in space. Here’s how SpaceX could do it
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlined more details for his company’s planned data centers in space ahead of a widely anticipated IPO on Thursday (June 11) expected to make him a trillionaire. A new half-hour video offers a typical Elon Musk fireside chat about where the billionaire founder of SpaceX wants to be taking his technology […]
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The Rubin Observatory will change the game for astronomy — if satellite companies don’t get in the way
PHOENIX, Ariz. — In June of 2025, we were greeted with a set of space images so special that one scientist even deemed them worthy of the title “astro-cinematography.” Indeed, they were unbelievable, dotted with TV-static-like dots representing millions of galaxies, printed with nebulas resembling watercolor canvases, and bursting with data about some of the […]
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Enormous solar power array seen from orbit | Space photo of the day for March 5, 2026
(Image credit: ESA) Europe’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission captured this stunning image of south-central Morocco, showing the the city of Ouarzazate, the Anti-Atlas Mountains, and the Ouarzazate solar power station. What is it? This false-color image of south-central Morocco was taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission and released on the European Space Agency website on […]
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Incoming! 1,300-pound NASA satellite will crash to Earth on March 10
A big NASA satellite will crash back to Earth on Tuesday (March 10) after nearly 14 years in orbit, experts say. The spacecraft in question is the 1,323-pound (600-kilogram) Van Allen Probe A, which launched in August 2012 along with its twin, Van Allen Probe B, to study the radiation belts around Earth for which […]
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Incoming! 1,300-pound NASA satellite crashes back to Earth over eastern Pacific Ocean
A big NASA satellite crashed back to Earth on Wednesday morning (March 11) after nearly 14 years in orbit. The spacecraft in question is the 1,323-pound (600-kilogram) Van Allen Probe A, which launched in August 2012 along with its twin, Van Allen Probe B, to study the radiation belts around Earth for which they’re named. […]
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