Updated April 14th, 2023 On 11 January 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite missile test. A China weather satellite—the FY-1C polar-orbiting satellite of the Fengyun series, at an altitude of 865 kilometers (537 mi), with a mass of 750 kilograms (1,650 lb) —was destroyed by a kinetic kill vehicle traveling at a speed of 8 km/s (18,000 mph) in the opposite direction. A Head-On Engagement attack like this has […]
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One of the fun parts of receiving satellite imagery is what you can do with the post-processing of the images. Map projections are mathematical models that allow us to represent a three-dimensional surface of the Earth on a two-dimensional map. There are many types of map projections, and each has its own set of advantages […]
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The four seasons, namely spring, summer, fall, and winter, are part of the natural cycle of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Each season is defined by a unique combination of astronomical and climatic factors, which affect weather patterns, animal behavior, plant growth, and human activities. The GOES-R Series satellites, operated by the National Oceanic […]
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COSPAS/SARSAT: The Technology Behind Saving Lives COSPAS/SARSAT is a technology that has been instrumental in saving countless lives over the years. It is a system that utilizes satellites and ground-based receivers to detect and locate emergency distress beacons, providing critical assistance to search and rescue operations around the world. COSPAS-SARSAT is an international satellite-based search […]
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GOES-3 weather satellite did not go gently into that goodnight…. For over 20 years, the South Pole relied on the GOES-3 weather satellite for communication links with the outside world. However, this satellite was decommissioned in 2016 after 38 years in operation. GOES-3 was launched in 1978 aboard a Delta 2914 carrier rocket, the satellite […]
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We’re like kids in a candy store, except the candy store is a never-ending galaxy of pixels and the candy is data and images of the Earth from space. They can tell you the exact location of any given spot on the planet just by looking at a grainy satellite image. They see patterns and […]
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All right, people, buckle up ’cause I am about to enter the world of science and satellite reception vlogging, and let me tell ya, it’s out of this world. It’s like taking science and blasting it into the stratosphere with a giant space cannon. You’ve got these vloggers who are just killing it, explaining complex […]
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As a young man I read all of Carl Sagan’s books, and even some of his papers, and once, was lucky enough to attend one of his lectures he gave at a local University. One of the papers he co-authored that I read was “Global Atmospheric Consequences of Nuclear War” which is the foundation on […]
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Vitality GOES- A new tool to work with imagery and data created by goestools and/or Satdump Jamie Vital has built a Web App for showcasing Geostationary Weather Satellite Data. The software is designed to display text and images received from GOES satellites via goestools and satdump. UPDATE: 1/27/2023 The author of Vitality GOES just pushed […]
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It looks likely that Meteor M2 permanently failed on 24 December 2022. Meteor M2 has had difficulty in the past with orientation problems and has typically recovered with help from ground engineers. However, this time this does not look to be the case. The last LRPT transmission occurred on 24 December 2022, repeated attempts to […]
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