Dizzying Hubble video zooms in for a detailed, layered look at the Whirlpool Galaxy

You ever get the feeling that you’re just a tiny, insignificant speck floating free in the vast ocean of our universe? If the answer is “no” then you haven’t been spending enough time on the Hubble Space Telescope’s YouTube channel.
A video poste…

View More Dizzying Hubble video zooms in for a detailed, layered look at the Whirlpool Galaxy

Meet the little-known Chinese WiFi startup that rubs shoulders with WeChat and Alipay

A service that connects people to WiFi hotspots for free turned out to be one of China’s most popular apps, nestling in the top ranks with Tencent’s WeChat messenger and Alibaba’s digital wallet affiliate Alipay. According to a report from app tracking service App Annie, WiFi Master Key was China’s fifth-largest app and the world’s ninth […]

View More Meet the little-known Chinese WiFi startup that rubs shoulders with WeChat and Alipay

Ultima Thule shows its lumps in latest images from New Horizons flyby

The rendezvous between the New Horizons probe and the distant object known as Ultima Thule was an historic moment, but after the mind-blowing imagery the craft sent back from Pluto, you could be forgiven for being a little disappointed in how indistinct the early imagery was. Those concerns should be partly alleviated by the latest image from the probe, which shows the rocky world in considerably greater detail.

View More Ultima Thule shows its lumps in latest images from New Horizons flyby

New Horizons beams back most detailed view yet of super-distant world, MU69

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The legendary New Horizons spacecraft has sent back the most detailed image yet of MU69 — the most distant object a human spacecraft has ever explored.

At some four billion miles from Earth, and one billion miles past Pluto, MU69 (which also goes by “Ultima Thule”) has been an object of mystery since its discovery in 2014. But New Horizons finally swooped by the distant object just after the 2019 New Year, uncovering a frozen, snowman-shaped world, composed of two roundish “lobes” that have been stuck together.

“This new image is starting to reveal differences in the geologic character of the two lobes of Ultima Thule, and is presenting us with new mysteries as well,” said Alan Stern, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission, in a statement. The mission is is jointly managed by NASA, the Southwest Research Institute, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Read more…

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View More New Horizons beams back most detailed view yet of super-distant world, MU69

Swarm Technologies raises $25M to deploy its own 150-satellite constellation

Swarm Technologies is one of several companies looking to populate low Earth orbit with communications satellites, setting itself apart with the sheer smallness of its devices — and of course with the notoriety of having defied the FCC and earned a fine. But investors are bullish, and the company has just raised a $25 million round A to put 150 of its tiny SpaceBEEs in orbit.

View More Swarm Technologies raises $25M to deploy its own 150-satellite constellation

Watch Blue Origin’s 10th New Shepard mission launch a science-loaded capsule to space

Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, is about to undertake the 10th launch of its New Shepard launch vehicle, with its capsule chock full of experiments. The launch, which was originally scheduled for a month ago but delayed for various reasons, will be take place at 6:50 AM Pacific time.

View More Watch Blue Origin’s 10th New Shepard mission launch a science-loaded capsule to space

Rocket Lab snags DARPA launch contract for first 2019 mission

Launch startup Rocket Lab is following the success of its first couple commercial launches by adding a prestigious (and deep-pocketed) new client: DARPA. The New Zealand-based company will send an experimental satellite called R3D2 into low Earth orbit sometime in late February if all goes well. DARPA is of course the Defense Department’s research wing, […]

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To rebuild satellite communications, Ubiquitilink starts at ground level

Communications satellites are multiplying year by year as more companies vie to create an orbital network that brings high-speed internet to the globe. Ubiquitilink, a new company headed by Nanoracks co-founder Charles Miller, is taking a different tack: reinventing the Earthbound side of the technology stack.

View More To rebuild satellite communications, Ubiquitilink starts at ground level