Space Technology, Defense & Exploration

Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars that emit electromagnetic radiation at regular intervals. They radiate energy across a broad range of frequencies, but they are most visible in their X-ray beams. Pulsars emit powerful beams in opposite directions as they spin. These beams are observable only when they’re pointed toward …

One of the biggest threats to the deployed aerospace and defense electronics systems is radiation. Outside the protective cover of the Earth’s atmosphere, the solar system is filled with radiation. The natural space environment consists of electrons and protons trapped by Earth’s magnetic field, protons and small amount of heavy nuclei …

Muons are subatomic particles that behave a lot like electrons but are around 200 times heavier. As the US Department of Energy explains, “Muons created in the atmosphere constantly hit every inch of the Earth’s surface and pass through almost any substance.”   Many scientists have noted that measuring the …

The current satellites mostly operate at lower frequencies like C- and X-bands each have 500 MHz of bandwidth and they are already crowded with users. Today, naval C- and X-band shipboard SATCOM terminals require supplemental EMI rejection filters to allow them to operate in a battle group environment, especially in close proximity …

There is virtually no part of a modern defense system that is not impacted in some way by optics and photonics, even when the system is not optically based. Modern defense systems are migrating toward optically based imaging, remote sensing, communications, and weapons.   Silicon photonics uses photons to detect …

Space situational awareness (SSA) is the foundational element of space security, and it entails keeping track of all natural and artificial space objects, energy and particle fluxes and understanding how the space picture is changing over time. SSA is a system of systems dealing with space surveillance, space weather and …

Two out of three missions to the red planet have failed. One reason there have been so many losses is that there have been so many attempts. “Mars is a favorite target,” says Dr. Firouz Naderi, manager of the Mars Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. To get there, …

China is planning to launch its own ‘artificial moon’ by 2020 to replace streetlamps and lower electricity costs in urban areas, state media reported. The Tian Fu New Area Science Society plans to launch the so-called “illumination satellite” would orbit above the Chinese city of Chengdu and glow in conjunction …

Today, the lowest echelon members of the U.S. military deployed in remote overseas locations are unable to obtain on-demand satellite imagery in a timely and persistent manner for pre-mission planning. This is due to lack of satellite overflight opportunities, inability to receive direct satellite downlinks at the tactical level and …

As the space is getting weaponized, countries are evolving new space strategies, space command and forces and space situational awareness and space weapons. There is also ongoing Space security cooperation between Canada, U.S., U.K. and Australia to counter the threats. In 2014, Defence departments of the Canada, U.S., the U.K. and …