Space Technology, Defense & Exploration

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 …

US DOD’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite (AEHF) is a joint service satellite communications system that provides global, survivable, secure, protected, and jam-resistant communications for high priority military ground, sea, and air assets. The AEHF system provides joint, interoperable, assured connectivity for warfighters in operations in all levels of conflict–a …

Aerospace companies including Facebook, Boeing and Google have been trying for years to create a solar-powered plane that can fly at high altitudes for years at a time, and can provide broadband communication services. They could have many uses, for example acting as a relay station for communications in emergencies such …