Satellite

A first-of-a-kind spacecraft is set to make history later this year, but will do so using materials you could find at your local hardware store. The world's first wooden satellite is set to enter orbit as a box made largely of birch plywood.

The US Space Force has launched a tactical satellite developed in only four months with only 21 days notice, demonstrating the ability to adapt and respond to changes in space or on the ground by quickly adding or replacing assets in orbit.

The UK Space Agency has awarded a group of companies contracts worth £32 million to develop a new "beam-hopping" communication satellite. Called Joey-Sat, the satellite would be able to quickly respond to sudden changes in demand or sudden emergencies.

A new study has revealed that Earth’s glaciers have lost a staggering amount of ice over the last two decades, and the rate of loss is accelerating. The global effort used satellite data to track the deteriorating condition of some 220,000 glaciers.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new line of military tactical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) satellites designed to provide battlefield forces with long-range tracking of moving targets in hostile environments in near-real-time.

Scientists have developed a new satellite data based early warning technique that could one day be used to predict volcanic eruptions years before they take place, and help decide which volcanoes should be fitted with sensitive monitoring equipment.

Northrop Grumman and its SpaceLogistics LLC subsidiary have made the first successful docking of their robotic service vehicle with a fully operational communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit, beginning a five-year life extension mission.

The secrets of the mysterious EmDrive thruster – which stumped both NASA and Chinese research teams by delivering measurable thrust without a propellant – have finally been unlocked. The thrust comes from ... drum roll ... repeated experimental error.

Using advanced infrared imaging technology aboard an Earth-orbiting satellite, scientists have measured the coldest temperature of a storm cloud on record, owing to an overshooting top that penetrated the stratosphere.

Europe is getting into the space manufacturing race as the European Commission awards Airbus a €3-million (US$3.5-million) contract to study the potential for assembling spacecraft in low-Earth orbit using robotic systems.

Lockheed Martin and Omnispace are teaming up to explore the technology needed to deliver 5G connectivity on a global scale by combining a constellation of non-geostationary orbital satellites and terrestrial mobile networks.

Satellites have offered scientists a powerful new tool when it comes to tracking endangered wildlife, with the movements of animals able to be monitored with precision. A new technology promises to expand the possibilities in this area even further.