Lifeboat Foundation

STARLINK.

Space-based internet service is poised to revolutionize the internet and bring high-speed connectivity to countless communities worldwide. Programs like SpaceX’s Starlink paint a picture of a bright future for the citizens of the world. Like many revolutionary technological advances, there is a dark side to Starlink.

The constellation of hundreds (and eventually thousands) of satellites reflect light back to the Earth, impinging on the darkness of the skies for professional astronomers and stargazers alike. Astronomers report images and data being disrupted by bright streaks left from the satellites passing through their observational fields of view. One potential solution to this issue is applying a dark coating to the reflective antennae on the satellites’ ground-facing side. In January of 2020, SpaceX launched the experimental DarkSat to test the effectiveness of such a coating. Astronomers around the world observed the new satellite. In December of 2020, a team from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) released a paper in The Astrophysical Journal showing detailed measurements of the efficacy of DarkSat.

So what were the results of the study? Is DarkSat an effective solution to the astronomical problem posed by Starlink? As is often the case in such studies, the answer is a little complicated.

Researchers at Harvard University have recently devised a system based on Wi-Fi sensing that could enhance the collaboration between robots operating in unmapped environments. This system, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, can essentially emulate antenna arrays in the air as a robot moves freely in a 2-D or 3D environment.

“The main goal of our paper was to leverage arbitrary 3D trajectories for a robot (UAV or UGV) equipped with an on-board trajectory estimation sensor,” Ninad Jadhav, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “This allows a Wi-Fi-signal-receiving robot to estimate the spatial direction (in azimuth and elevation) of other neighboring robots by capturing all the wireless signal paths traveling between the transmitting and receiving robot (which we call AOA profile). Additionally, we also characterized how the trajectory shape impacts the AOA profile using Cramer Rao bound.”

In their previous studies, Jadhav and his colleagues focused on robot collaboration scenarios in which the robots followed 2-D trajectories with a limited set of geometries (e.g., linear or curved). The new system they created, on the other hand, is applicable to scenarios where robots are moving freely, following a wider range of trajectories.

The Man Said That His Country Has Been In Existence For 1000 Years And Was A Little Puzzled Why His Country Was Called Andorra On The Map.

It was July 1954 when a smartly dressed man arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Much like other passengers, he makes his way to customs. But whatever happened from this point onwards have left all puzzled and concerned. When questioned by the customs officers, the mysterious passenger said he was from Taured, also referred to as Taured Mystery. The mystery man claimed that it was the third time he was visiting Japan from his country. But, to the surprise of officers, they couldn’t find any country named Taured. The primary language of the man, described as Caucasian looking with a beard, was French. However, she was purportedly speaking Japanese and many other languages as well.

Officers were perplexed because they had never heard about any such country. The passport of the man was issued by of course the Taured. The passport looked authentic but the place was not recognized.

Continue reading “Taured Mystery: The Man Who Vanished As Mysteriously As He Came” »

SpaceX will launch its first batch of Starlink satellites in 2021 on Tuesday (Jan. 19) to expand the company’s growing megaconstellation and you can watch the action live online.

Reviews.org Survey results state 51% of Americans would switch to SpaceX Starlink Internet.

🚙 🌊 From the street to underwater depths: The diving car by Switzerland’s Frank M. Rinderknecht is legendary! Every year he develops a vehicle prototype that has never been seen before.

SpaceX aims to provide Starlink satellite broadband internet service worldwide. “With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable,” the company’s website states, “Starlink is now delivering initial beta service both domestically and internationally, and will continue expansion to near global coverage of the populated world in 2021.” SpaceX is currently providing Starlink beta service to select customers living in northern United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. To receive updates about when service will be available in your area sign-up via Starlink.com.

Starlink customers receive broadband internet connection from the satellites in space via a Starlink Kit which includes a phased-array antenna dish, Wi-Fi router, along with power and mounting equipment. The kit is priced at $499 USD, with a monthly service fee of $99 USD. SpaceX has approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate 1 Million dish antennas for customers in the United States. In July, the company submitted a new FCC request to operate 5 Million additional dish terminals in the U.S. – “SpaceX Services requests this increase in authorized units due to the extraordinary demand for access to the Starlink non-geostationary orbit satellite system,” the company wrote in the FCC filing last year. The FCC has not approved the request yet.

Reviews.org, a team that reviews technology products online, conducted a asking 500 Americans if they would switch internet provider once SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service enters the public telecommunications market. “Starlink internet is perfect for those who feel stuck with slow speeds from their internet provider –especially in rural areas where building out cable and fiber networks either takes a long time or is less likely to provide adequate coverage,” Reviews.org wrote in its website. According to the Review.org results, 51% of Americans would switch to SpaceX Starlink Internet service. “51% of internet users say they plan to sign up for the Starlink beta once it becomes available to them. While only 5% of Americans currently use a satellite internet connection, 64% of respondents say Starlink’s rollout would make them reconsider their satellite internet stance,” Review.org representatives wrote in the publication, “55% of non-satellite internet users say they’d switch to Starlink’s satellite internet service at a higher cost if it resulted in faster internet speeds for their household,” they stated. The organization compiled a graphic with more details about the their, pictured below.

The result was a bizarre, Lego-like human tissue that replicates the basic circuits behind how we decide to move. Without external prompting, when churned together like ice cream, the three ingredients physically linked up into a fully functional circuit. The 3D mini-brain, through the information highway formed by the artificial spinal cord, was able to make the lab-grown muscle twitch on demand.

In other words, if you think isolated mini-brains—known formally as brain organoids—floating in a jar is creepy, upgrade your nightmares. The next big thing in probing the brain is assembloids—free-floating brain circuits—that now combine brain tissue with an external output.

The end goal isn’t to freak people out. Rather, it’s to recapitulate our nervous system, from input to output, inside the controlled environment of a Petri dish. An autonomous, living brain-spinal cord-muscle entity is an invaluable model for figuring out how our own brains direct the intricate muscle movements that allow us stay upright, walk, or type on a keyboard.

The Chinese capital may be the most well-positioned to help China’s satellite internet ambitions. Ultimate Blue Nebula’s Lan said private satellite manufacturers and space transport providers based in Beijing could make up as much as 80 per cent of the nascent Chinese satellite internet industry’s overall supply chain.

The Chinese capital is already home to a comprehensive supply chain for satellite manufacturers and space transport providers.