Satellite Communications

Why NASA thinks a supercomputer on the moon might not be pure fiction

NASA's Deep Space Network is getting overloaded, with missions already competing for time and bandwidth, and the situation will only get worse.

  • By John Breeden II

Was 'Sneakers' right about secret government IT?

The movie that inspired a lot of people to become government techies might have been real, just a little.

  • By John Breeden II

GOP platform: Sell off government spectrum

The pro-business platform calls for auctioning off surplus RF spectrum and condemns government regulation of the Internet — except when it should be regulated.

  • By William Jackson

NASA's next satellite: An everyday Android smart phone

The PhoneSat marks the beginning of what the agency says is a new model for quickly developing and deploying satellites.

  • By Kevin McCaney

Mars rover Curiosity will phone home on NASA's interplanetary Internet

Data from the Mars Science Laboratory will ride back to Earth on NASA's Deep Space Network.

  • By Kevin McCaney

NOAA tracks toxic Great Lakes algae from space

A public/private pilot program is taking a close-up look at harmful algae in Lake Erie by processing data retrieved from space.

  • By David Hubler

Mixing supercomputing, social networking for a better view of Earth

The NASA Earth Exchange lets scientists build in hours Landsat-based Earth models that used to take months.

  • By Kevin McCaney

Solar-storm launch boldly goes where no rubber chicken has gone before

Some California high school students sent NASA's Camilla mascot into space during March's intense solar storms.

  • By Kevin McCaney

DARPA aims to replace regular satellites with floating clusters

The Defense Department's research agency seeks to build clusters of small spacecraft that work together and share information.

  • By Henry Kenyon

MUOS begins new era for defense satellites

The launch of the first Mobile User Objective System satellite in February marked a major step forward for the military's communications-on-the-move projects.

  • By Terry Costlow

Smart phones for multiple networks? FCC mulls changes.

The commission is considering rule changes that would make smart phones and tablets interoperable with different networks.

  • By Kevin McCaney

More satellites means more SATCOM gridlock

The rapid global growth of satellite operators is causing substantial interference problems, experts say.

  • By Henry Kenyon

Neutrinos carry text message through solid rock

Whether neutrinos are faster than light is still up in the air, but researchers find they can take communications through stone.

  • By Greg Crowe

Military's leased satellites: Is there a better way?

The ways DOD pays for and manages its leased civilian satellite communications networks are inefficient and needlessly expensive, one industry official says.

  • By Henry Kenyon
Featured eBooks

'Janitor satellite' would clean up space junk

The Swiss Space Center's CleanSpace One project aims to help sweep the orbital paths of dangerous debris, but let's hope it's not one piece at a time.

  • By Kevin McCaney

FCC shoots down LightSquared's plans for satellite network

Ruling comes after NTIA report concludes there is "no practical way" to solve the problem of GPS interference at the moment.

  • By Kevin McCaney

Can NASA give away a working satellite?

The GALEX space telescope is functioning fine, but its funding has dried up. If CalTech doesn't take over, it becomes one more piece of space junk.

  • By Kevin McCaney

Court's GPS ruling doesn't answer the real question of online privacy

The court's decision that use of a GPS tracking device constitutes a search relied on property rights and did not address the question of privacy in an increasingly online world.

  • By William Jackson

Largest solar storm in 7 years could disrupt GPS signals, power grid

Storm also could bring Northern Lights to parts of the lower 48.

  • By Kevin McCaney

DARPA seeks ways to rebuild space junk

DOD is developing new ways to get high-resolution images of spacecraft as part of a plan to build new satellites in orbit from parts salvaged from deactivated crafts.

  • By Henry Kenyon

Navy's new disaster response van runs on solar, wind power

The Navy's salvage command has rolled out a command van that uses solar, wind and battery power to supplement its generator.

  • By Henry Kenyon