Many of the companies promising "net-zero" emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal.
Earth Sciences
15 hours ago
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16
On July 31, 2013 a constellation of US defense satellites saw a streak of light over South Australia as a rock from outer space burned through Earth's atmosphere on its way to crash into the ground below.
Astronomy
Nov 26, 2022
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36
Using observational data from the U.S. weather satellites GOES, a team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany has taken an important step toward unlocking one of the sun's ...
Astronomy
Nov 25, 2022
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90
Air pollutants kill around 7 million people every year. Much of this pollution is tiny particles suspended in the air which, when inhaled, can cause people to develop heart and lung diseases, as well as cancer.
Environment
Nov 17, 2022
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22
Europe should demonstrate responsibility, leadership and autonomy in space—and its highest priority should be to address climate change, according to a poll of European citizens.
Planetary Sciences
Nov 15, 2022
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2
Nearly half of all bird species worldwide are declining, according to the 2022 State of the World's Birds report. How do you tackle a challenge that big?
Plants & Animals
Nov 15, 2022
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26
220,000 metric tons of methane are likely to have been released from the ruptures in the Nord Stream gas pipelines, new satellite data has revealed.
Environment
Nov 15, 2022
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9
A volcano is likely erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don't know for sure because it's so inaccessible.
Environment
Nov 15, 2022
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38
Part of Greenland's ice sheet is thinning further inland than previously believed, which will likely lead to greater sea level rise by the end of this century, a new study found Wednesday.
Environment
Nov 13, 2022
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The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the transportation sector accounts for approximately 27% of all greenhouse gas emissions annually in the United States, and emissions from road transportation—driven by ...
Environment
Nov 10, 2022
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72
The Satellite Data System (SDS) is a system of United States military communications satellites. At least three generations have been used: SDS-1 from 1976 to 1987; SDS-2 from 1989 to 1996; SDS-3 from 1998 to the present. SDS satellites have a highly elliptical orbit, going from about 300 kilometers at perigee to roughly 39,000 km at apogee in order to allow communications with polar stations that cannot contact geosynchronous satellites. The high apogee meant that the polar regions were visible for long amounts of time, and only two satellites were required in order to achieve constant communications ability. The SDS satellites were constructed by Hughes Aircraft.
The primary purpose of the SDS satellites is to relay imagery from low-flying reconnaissance satellites to ground stations in the United States.
Each SDS-1 satellite had 12 channels available for ultra-high frequency communication. They were cylindrical in shape, roughly 25 feet (7.6 m) long. 980 watts of electrical power were available from solar panels and batteries. The SDS-1 had a mass of 1385 pounds (630 kilograms) and was launched on Titan-3B rockets. The SDS-1 satellites had similar orbits to the Air Force's Jumpseat ELINT satellites.
The SDS-2 is significantly more massive at 5150 pounds (2335 kg), with three separate communication dishes, including one for a K band downlink. Two dishes are 15 feet (4.5 meters) in diameter, while the third is 6.6 feet (2 m) in diameter. The solar arrays generate 1238 watts of power. It is believed that the Space Shuttle has been used to launch several satellites, possibly on missions STS-28, STS-38, and STS-53. Other launches have used the Titan-4 rocket.
Quasar is the rumored code name for the communications satellite.
A recent Quasar may have been launched into a high-apogee orbit from Cape Canaveral on August 31, 2004 by an Atlas 2AS rocket.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
