Space data centers: SpaceX and Blue Origin race to orbit as scientists question physics

Space data centers: SpaceX and Blue Origin race to orbit as scientists question physics

The scale is attractive in its simplicity: AI needs more power than the world’s internet can provide, so it moves data centers into orbit, where the sun never sets and electricity is free. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and a growing constellation of startups are now racing to make that vision a reality. The problem, according to … Read more

NASA astronauts take the Earth out of orbit before pushing it to the Moon

NASA astronauts take the Earth out of orbit before pushing it to the Moon

ORLANDO, Florida – NASA’s Artemis II mission continues April 2nd wrapped theirs first day in space by testing the cameras they will use to capture spectacular images of the Earth as it slowly descends beneath them, hours before it leaves the Moon’s orbit. “It’s like going back home, you’re trying to take a picture of … Read more

As satellites fill Earth’s orbit, the space race is at risk of becoming an environmental disaster

'This sounds weak': how the satellite hit chain can get out of control

Our relationship with space is changing rapidly. For almost all of human history, the space above us was an unreachable limit. Yet in one lifetime, the Earth’s orbit has gone from empty to crowded with satellites. In the meantime, although the moon is still rare, in the next few decades it is expected to be … Read more

The world’s orbit is filling up. Here’s how we avoid disaster.

The world's orbit is filling up. Here's how we avoid disaster.

It has been less than 70 years since humans launched their first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around Earth. That event started not only the Space Race but also the Space Age, our modern age of satellite instruments. At the beginning of 2019, there were about 2,000 active and dead satellite payloads orbiting the … Read more