An experimental flock of miniature CubeSats has survived the unexpected loss of its leader to begin monitoring water quality across Spain and Portugal.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 23, 2024
Using satellite-based hyperspectral sensors, Orbital Sidekick offers global monitoring services. The company has launched five commercial satellites, including two in March, with plans for a sixth later this year. Co-founder and CEO Dan Katz credits the ISS National Laboratory for helping test their sensor technology. Hyperspectral imaging identifies specific chemicals and materials, provi

Huntsville AL (SPX) May 23, 2024
Working together, NASA and IBM Research have developed a new artificial intelligence model to support a variety of weather and climate applications. The new model - known as the Privthi-weather-climate foundational model - uses artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that could vastly improve the resolution we'll be able to get, opening the door to better regional and local weather and climate mode

Boston MA (SPX) May 23, 2024
The sun's surface is a brilliant display of sunspots and flares driven by the solar magnetic field, which is internally generated through a process called dynamo action. Astrophysicists have assumed that the sun's field is generated deep within the star. But an MIT study finds that the sun's activity may be shaped by a much shallower process. In a paper appearing in Nature, researchers at

Paris, France (SPX) May 23, 2024
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union (EU) have updated their security of information agreement, reinforcing their partnership. ESA and the EU have collaborated to ensure European citizens benefit from space programs. ESA has developed key components of the EU's space initiatives, such as the Galileo navigation system and the Copernicus Earth observation satellites. These

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 23, 2024
A team of solar scientists has identified the origins of the mechanism driving the sun's activity and sunspots. The discovery may solve one of the oldest unsolved problems in physics. The "solar dynamo" might start in the sun's outer layers rather than its interior, said Benjamin Brown, a solar physicist at CU Boulder. "Galileo first observed the sunspots 400 years ago...But he couldn't fi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 23, 2024
NASA has selected a new instrument to study the Sun and its massive solar eruptions. The Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation (JEDI) will capture images of the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light, revealing the mechanisms of the Sun's activity. JEDI's two telescopes will be integrated into the ESA's (European Space Agency's) Vigil space weather mission. They will focus on the middle lay

Boston MA (SPX) May 23, 2024
Astronomers at MIT, NASA, and elsewhere have a new way to measure how fast a black hole spins, by using the wobbly aftermath from its stellar feasting. The method takes advantage of a black hole tidal disruption event - a blazingly bright moment when a black hole exerts tides on a passing star and rips it to shreds. As the star is disrupted by the black hole's immense tidal forces, half of

Paris, France (SPX) May 23, 2024
Preligens, a leader in Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Aerospace, Defense, and Government, has secured a contract to provide AI analytics software for high volumes of government satellite imagery. This award by a new Asia Pacific customer highlights Preligens' AI analytics capabilities and supports the expansion of its international customer base. "Since its incorporation 8 years ag

Washington DC (UPI) May 22, 2024
The National Reconnaissance Office on Wednesday launched a group of U.S. spy satellites early Wednesday morning. A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the NROL-146 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 4 a.m. EDT. The mission marked the first launch of NRO's proliferated systems featuring responsive collection and rapid data delivery, it said. "Our nation's evolvi