15/05/2013
Two major elements in
Britain's space strategy have been officially unveiled in Oxfordshire. One is the European Space Agency's (ESA) first technical centre in the UK, to be known as the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecoms. The other is the Satellite Applications Catapult, one of seven new government initiatives intended to drive innovation in growing areas of the British economy. Both centres are on the Harwell campus. Their co-location is quite deliberate. The Oxfordshire science park, most visible for its giant Diamond synchrotron facility, is already home to a lot of space activity, not least the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, which builds and tests satellite equipment.
24/04/2013
Space debris collisions are expected to rise according to new research. Unless space debris is actively tackled, some satellite orbits will become extremely hazardous over the next 200 years, a new study suggests. The research found that catastrophic collisions would likely occur every five to nine years at the altitudes used principally to observe the Earth.
13/02/2013
Scientists at the University of Surrey, working on the project funded by the European space company Astrium, have devised a
3 kg miniature satellite or "nanosatellite" fitted with a "solar sail". "CubeSail" is a device which can be fitted to satellites or launch vehicle upper stages that are sent into orbit and then can be deployed to successfully de-orbit equipment that has reached the end of its mission.
21/01/2013
One of the very best ways to understand the changes taking place on Planet Earth is to make observations from space. The latest incarnation will go up from California's Vandenberg Air Force base on an Atlas rocket, and, after a few weeks of checks, assume the lead role of imaging the planet from an altitude of 705km. The
Landsat spacecraft view the Earth in visible and infrared wavelengths, and track details as small as 30m across.
20/12/2012
A powerful new
telecommunications satellite for the UK Military has been launched into orbit. The five-tonne Skynet 5D was sent up on an Ariana rocket from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
19/12/2012
Simon Watt's presentation 'IP Acceleration and Quality of Service' from the IET Symposium Satellite Communications and the Cloud on 22 November 2012 is now available on MyCommunity. Login above or
register to view the
downloadable file.
18/12/2012
Presentations are now available to view from the
Maritime Surveillance from Space event on the 6 December and videos of the speakers presentations can also
now be viewed on IET.tv.
23/11/2012
What does an XBox and a Satllite have in common? The Kinect.
STraND-2 is a nanosaetllite with docking capabilities. It will utilise components from the XBox Kinect games controller to scan the local area and provide the satellites with spatial awareness on all three axes - thus allowing them to dock.
09/10/2012
Technicians and engineers are completing final system checks and spacecraft inspections on the first of NASA's third-generation
Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS).
03/10/2012
Astrium is undertaking research into a
'harpoon' system to remove space junk from orbit.
02/10/2012
Satellite launched using new satellite
language SPELL.
The IET for you
The IET for you 
HYLAS 1 - From dream to reality
Skylon Lecture 2012
Solar Orbiter - Europe visits the Sun
