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satellite

New ESA Satellite will “Hug” Debris Out of Orbit

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Clear-Space-1

The largest garbage dump on Earth might be in space. In low Earth orbit — the space around our planet up to about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) in altitude — more than 3,000 defunct satellites and tens of millions of smaller pieces of debris clatter around the atmosphere. And each is moving at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Sometimes, two big pieces of this so-called “space junk” crash into each other, fragmenting into yet more junk, each one a tiny bullet of trash that could critically damage satellites and spacecraft. It’s a real problem. Now, the European Space … Read more

SPACE: There’s a Secret Russian Satellite

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Image credit: Roscosmos

A Russian Soyuz rocket launched a top-secret military satellite designed to scope out other satellites in space on Monday (Nov. 25), according to government reports. The Soyuz-2.1v launch vehicle brought the satellite into orbit from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which is roughly 500 miles or 800 kilometers north of Moscow, for the Russian Defense Ministry, the ministry said in a statement. The launch took place at 12:52 p.m. EST (1752 GMT or 8:52 p.m. local time). “The spacecraft … is launched into the target orbit from which the state of domestic satellites can be monitored,” the ministry added. “The optical equipment … Read more

SPACE: Are We Being Watched By An Alien Satellite? Probably Not. But…

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Black Knight - NASA

Sometimes the introduction of a news report will stop you in your tracks, forcing you to reread in fear you didn’t quite grasp its point the first time. That was certainly the case when Mail Online published a story on Mar. 21, 2017: “An alien satellite set up more than 12,000 years ago to spy on humans has been shot down by elite soldiers from the illuminati, UFO hunters claim.”  And with that, the conspiracy surrounding the so-called “Black Knight” satellite appeared to be very much alive. It’s been 120 years since conspiracists believed the existence of the Black Knight was recorded. … Read more

The World is Running Out of Potable Water

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Stressed Aquifers

Fodder for post-apocalyptic or sci fi stories? The world’s largest underground aquifers – a source of fresh water for hundreds of millions of people — are being depleted at alarming rates, according to new NASA satellite data that provides the most detailed picture yet of vital water reserves hidden under the Earth’s surface. Twenty-one of the world’s 37 largest aquifers — in locations from India and China to the United States and France — have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water was removed than replaced during the decade-long study period, researchers announced Tuesday. Thirteen aquifers declined at rates … Read more