microsatellites
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Japan's experimental mini rocket launch ends in failure
Japan's space program troubles aren't over yet, apparently. The country's Aerospace Exploration Agency reports that the launch of its miniature SS-520 rocket ended in failure. The first stage went off without a hitch, but communications problems prevented the second stage from igniting and carrying a microsatellite, TRICOM 1, into orbit. While rocket failures certainly aren't unheard of (just ask SpaceX), the incident is a black eye given what Japan wanted to achieve.
White House initiative pushes for more tiny satellites
Miniature satellites are increasingly a big deal, and for good reasons: they're not only less expensive and easier to deploy than the giant satellites of old, but can cover wider areas. And the White House wants to give them a helping hand. It's launching an initiative that will foster small satellites with the resources they need to flourish. To start, NASA is not only proposing as much as $30 million toward purchasing data from these tiny vessels, but creating a Small Spacecraft Virtual Institute that will offer know-how to organizations. A more direct effort has the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarding Planet a $20 million contract for a fleet of small satellites that can capture images of "at least" 85 percent of the planet every 15 days.
NASA satellites to predict hurricane paths by studying their cores
NASA may soon eliminate much of the uncertainty in predicting the paths of hurricanes and other giant storms. The agency is building CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System), a flock of eight microsatellites that should track hurricanes more effectively than any one full-size craft can manage. They'll be the first satellites to look at the inner core of a storm, giving them a good estimate of the wind speeds and thus the path of those swirling air currents. They'll also get updated images of the tropics within a few hours instead of a few days, so meteorologists shouldn't be caught off-guard if a hurricane quickly gathers momentum or changes direction. When CYGNSS starts helping out during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season (between June and November), it could do a lot to help coastal residents prepare for natural disasters.
Elon Musk confirms satellite plans, announcement '2 - 3 months away'
This weekend the Wall Street Journal published rumors linking everyman billionaire Elon Musk to an internet-via-satellite project and tonight he addressed those rumors. In a tweet Musk said his company SpaceX is "in the early stages of developing advanced micro-satellites operating in large formations." We'll have to wait for more details though, as he said an announcement is a couple of months away. The rumors suggest Musk is working with Greg Wyler, formerly of Google / O3b Networks, to launch a total of 700 satellites. The difference between their satellites and others in use would be the size of the fleet -- 10x the size of the largest currently in orbit -- and the size of the satellites, which would be much smaller than those currently used for communications. If it all comes together, expect to see states bidding (again) for the right to build Musk's next big thing, and takes on competition from Google (with satellites and balloons) and Facebook (drones) to extend the internet's reach from above. Update: In follow up tweets, Musk said the drones could provide "unfettered" internet, at very low cost, and that several points in the initial WSJ report were wrong. [Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
