Photo: VCG (Getty Images) A second player has officially entered the race to pack low Earth orbit with communications satellites. Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) launched its first set of 18 satellites into space on Monday. The Chinese company aims to build out a 15,000-satellite network by 2030 to provide broadband internet globally, referred to … Read more
Image: NASA I have become convinced that the truly incredible quantity of junk being launched into space on a regular basis will become one of the world’s greatest problems within our lifetime. According to UN estimates, the quantity of objects put into space by humans between 2019 and today (8,815 objects) exceeds the total number … Read more
Photo: Red Huber (Getty Images) A new study from the University of Southern California published last week found that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites could be depleting the Earth’s ozone layer. Researchers estimated the potential damage caused by the internet service’s satellites burning up in the atmosphere and releasing aluminum oxides. With its growing artificial constellation, SpaceX … Read more
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24740705/titan_side_view_bks.jpg "OceanGate’s ill-fated Titan sub relied on a hand-typed Excel spreadsheet")
