SpaceX says a geomagnetic storm just doomed 40 Starlink internet satellites

SpaceX is in the process of losing up to 40 brand-new Starlink internet satellites due to a geomagnetic storm that struck just a day after the fleet’s launch last week.  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 49 Starlink satellites from Florida on Thursday (Feb. 3) from NASA’s historic Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center … Read more

Crowdfunding Isn’t Enough in a Crisis

Many of us are familiar with crowdfunding: donating money to people and their projects using one of many platforms on the internet. During the pandemic, people have sought help through crowdfunding in record numbers, making the activity seem like a de facto part of the American safety net. Some of these campaigns are truly transformative. … Read more

Russian Cyberattacks against the U.S. Could Focus on Disinformation

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. As tensions mount between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the threat of Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. increases. The Department of Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin on Jan. 23, 2022, warning that Russia has the capability to carry … Read more

SpaceX Satellites Have Invaded Astronomers’ Views of The Sky, And It’s Getting Worse

With the rapid expansion of commercial space, there is a growing number of satellites in orbit around our planet. Most of these are in low-Earth orbit, which is becoming increasingly crowded.   This has led some to be concerned about a catastrophic rise of space debris, as well as a growing frustration by astronomers due … Read more

SpaceX launches 49 Starlink internet satellites, lands rocket at sea

SpaceX’s Starlink internet megaconstellation keeps growing. A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 49 Starlink satellites lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida today (Jan. 18) at 9:02 p.m. EST (0203 GMT on Jan. 19).  About nine minutes later, the rocket’s first stage came down to Earth for a pinpoint touchdown on … Read more

Tonga volcano: Massive eruption was a once-in-a-millennium event

The underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption has already triggered a tsunami, a sonic boom and thousands of lightning bolts, and could now lead to acid rain Earth 17 January 2022 By Alice Klein Satellite photo of the eruption CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS The massive explosion of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga on Saturday was its … Read more

You can watch SpaceX launch more than four dozen Starlink internet satellites tonight. Here’s how.

A SpaceX rocket will launch a new fleet of the company’s Starlink internet satellites into orbit tonight (Jan. 17) and you can watch it live online.  In what will be SpaceX’s third flight of 2022, the company is set to loft 49 Starlink satellites into space on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Launch Complex … Read more

How Targeted Advertising on Social Media Drives People to Extremes

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Have you had the experience of looking at some product online and then seeing ads for it all over your social media feed? Far from coincidence, these instances of eerily accurate advertising provide glimpses into the behind-the-scenes mechanisms … Read more

Starlink: SpaceX’s satellite internet project

Starlink is the name of a satellite network developed by the private spaceflight company SpaceX to provide low-cost internet to remote locations. SpaceX eventually hopes to have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called megaconstellation.  The size and scale of the project flusters astronomers, who fear that the bright, orbiting objects will interfere with … Read more

Kazakhstan unrest: Internet shutdown hits a fifth of global bitcoin mining network

The second largest bitcoin mining nation in the world has cut off internet access, slashing the amount of computing power dedicated to the cryptocurrency Technology 7 January 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Riot police gather to block demonstrators during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan Vladimir Tretyakov/AP/Shutterstoc​k Nationwide internet outages in Kazakhstan amid civil unrest have knocked … Read more