Satellite mesh networks stop pretending they can replace fibre
The economics finally sorted themselves out, and the answer is complementary coverage rather than conquest.
Space & Orbital Systems
Samir Bahri
Samir tracks launch manifests, orbital debris and the slow industrialisation of low Earth orbit.
4 stories
Stories by Samir Bahri
Video
Building a relay network for the far side of the Moon
Filmed at two ground stations: the scheduling problem behind every far-side mission you will read about.
Debris tracking improved; the warning system did not
Sensors now see objects a few centimetres across. Operators still get conjunction alerts they cannot act on.
Reusable upper stages are a materials problem wearing a rocket costume
First stages come home routinely. The stage that reaches orbital velocity faces a completely different thermal bill.
