#lowearthorbit — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lowearthorbit, aggregated by home.social.
-
Weekend Reading - Lasers in Space - YES!
The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is developing the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), an optical/laser communications primary network/data transport layer to create a resilient satellite based “mesh network” in Low Earth Orbit that can scale across multiple vendors and platforms.
Net-net, laser links are the critical infrastructure in PWSA. Get all the details in this TechAptitude post:
https://techaptitude.substack.com/p/us-space-forces-laser-mesh-network #Space #Satellites #Networks #MeshNetworks #LaserMesh #Lasers #Communications #PWSA #USSF #DoD #Military #LowEarthOrbit #SpaceCraft #OpticalCommunications #TechAptitude -
Escalation in orbit
By AUDREY DECKER
09/18/2026"Pentagon officials admitted there are #US weapons orbiting Earth — a watershed moment for the space race with #China and #Russia.
"But after dropping that bombshell, American officials offered no further details about what kind of weapons are circling the globe, or how they might be used. And some experts worried the announcement could ratchet up a global space arms race.
"The disclosure came at the Air Force and #SpaceForce ’s mainstay conference this week, and it drew significant attention. Pentagon officials have long avoided publicly discussing weapons in space, or providing any details about its orbital arsenal, citing national security concerns."
#USA32 #SpaceWars #SpaceDebris #LowEarthOrbit #WeaponizationOfSpace #USPol #WorldPol
-
Escalation in orbit
By AUDREY DECKER
09/18/2026"Pentagon officials admitted there are #US weapons orbiting Earth — a watershed moment for the space race with #China and #Russia.
"But after dropping that bombshell, American officials offered no further details about what kind of weapons are circling the globe, or how they might be used. And some experts worried the announcement could ratchet up a global space arms race.
"The disclosure came at the Air Force and #SpaceForce ’s mainstay conference this week, and it drew significant attention. Pentagon officials have long avoided publicly discussing weapons in space, or providing any details about its orbital arsenal, citing national security concerns."
#USA32 #SpaceWars #SpaceDebris #LowEarthOrbit #WeaponizationOfSpace #USPol #WorldPol
-
Escalation in orbit
By AUDREY DECKER
09/18/2026"Pentagon officials admitted there are #US weapons orbiting Earth — a watershed moment for the space race with #China and #Russia.
"But after dropping that bombshell, American officials offered no further details about what kind of weapons are circling the globe, or how they might be used. And some experts worried the announcement could ratchet up a global space arms race.
"The disclosure came at the Air Force and #SpaceForce ’s mainstay conference this week, and it drew significant attention. Pentagon officials have long avoided publicly discussing weapons in space, or providing any details about its orbital arsenal, citing national security concerns."
#USA32 #SpaceWars #SpaceDebris #LowEarthOrbit #WeaponizationOfSpace #USPol #WorldPol
-
Escalation in orbit
By AUDREY DECKER
09/18/2026"Pentagon officials admitted there are #US weapons orbiting Earth — a watershed moment for the space race with #China and #Russia.
"But after dropping that bombshell, American officials offered no further details about what kind of weapons are circling the globe, or how they might be used. And some experts worried the announcement could ratchet up a global space arms race.
"The disclosure came at the Air Force and #SpaceForce ’s mainstay conference this week, and it drew significant attention. Pentagon officials have long avoided publicly discussing weapons in space, or providing any details about its orbital arsenal, citing national security concerns."
#USA32 #SpaceWars #SpaceDebris #LowEarthOrbit #WeaponizationOfSpace #USPol #WorldPol
-
Escalation in orbit
By AUDREY DECKER
09/18/2026"Pentagon officials admitted there are #US weapons orbiting Earth — a watershed moment for the space race with #China and #Russia.
"But after dropping that bombshell, American officials offered no further details about what kind of weapons are circling the globe, or how they might be used. And some experts worried the announcement could ratchet up a global space arms race.
"The disclosure came at the Air Force and #SpaceForce ’s mainstay conference this week, and it drew significant attention. Pentagon officials have long avoided publicly discussing weapons in space, or providing any details about its orbital arsenal, citing national security concerns."
#USA32 #SpaceWars #SpaceDebris #LowEarthOrbit #WeaponizationOfSpace #USPol #WorldPol
-
This happened on September 4 -- 8-9 days before the #USA32 satellite explosion.
A Chinese #satellite has left #SpaceDebris in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.
by Marie Perez
Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM EDT"Here's what to know
The debris field was left by #Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese #reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. #SpaceForce is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.
"On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert #JonathanMcDowell speculated that a 'battery explosion or an impact by #SpaceDebris' may have caused the breakup.
"Fragments at those heights can stay in orbit for extraordinarily long periods, so a single satellite failure can create a pollution problem that endures for generations.
"That danger is growing in an already crowded orbital environment. The European Space Agency says more than 60 years of space activity have produced over 56,000 tracked objects in orbit. Roughly half of those in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network's catalog are expected to keep circling the planet indefinitely.
"More background
" #SpaceJunk may be easy to overlook because it is out of sight, but it can still have serious consequences for life on the ground. A more dangerous orbital environment raises the risk of collisions that could damage satellites used for #GPS, #InternetAccess, climate monitoring, transportation, and emergency management.
"One major long-term fear is #KesslerSyndrome , a scenario researchers have warned about for years in which one serious collision creates debris that triggers additional collisions in a cascading chain reaction. If that unfolds, some orbital regions could become much more hazardous for spacecraft.
"As Futurism reported, that risk is serious enough that an international team of researchers introduced a 2025 model called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm, or #CRASHClock. They concluded that after a widespread disruptive event, a catastrophic #Kessler cascade could accelerate quickly enough to threaten casualties on the ground within days."
Read more:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-satellite-breaks-unusual-orbit-132200637.html#ASAT #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #China #Satellites #SpySatellite #LEO #SpaceWeather #SpaceWars
-
This happened on September 4 -- 8-9 days before the #USA32 satellite explosion.
A Chinese #satellite has left #SpaceDebris in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.
by Marie Perez
Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM EDT"Here's what to know
The debris field was left by #Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese #reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. #SpaceForce is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.
"On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert #JonathanMcDowell speculated that a 'battery explosion or an impact by #SpaceDebris' may have caused the breakup.
"Fragments at those heights can stay in orbit for extraordinarily long periods, so a single satellite failure can create a pollution problem that endures for generations.
"That danger is growing in an already crowded orbital environment. The European Space Agency says more than 60 years of space activity have produced over 56,000 tracked objects in orbit. Roughly half of those in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network's catalog are expected to keep circling the planet indefinitely.
"More background
" #SpaceJunk may be easy to overlook because it is out of sight, but it can still have serious consequences for life on the ground. A more dangerous orbital environment raises the risk of collisions that could damage satellites used for #GPS, #InternetAccess, climate monitoring, transportation, and emergency management.
"One major long-term fear is #KesslerSyndrome , a scenario researchers have warned about for years in which one serious collision creates debris that triggers additional collisions in a cascading chain reaction. If that unfolds, some orbital regions could become much more hazardous for spacecraft.
"As Futurism reported, that risk is serious enough that an international team of researchers introduced a 2025 model called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm, or #CRASHClock. They concluded that after a widespread disruptive event, a catastrophic #Kessler cascade could accelerate quickly enough to threaten casualties on the ground within days."
Read more:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-satellite-breaks-unusual-orbit-132200637.html#ASAT #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #China #Satellites #SpySatellite #LEO #SpaceWeather #SpaceWars
-
This happened on September 4 -- 8-9 days before the #USA32 satellite explosion.
A Chinese #satellite has left #SpaceDebris in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.
by Marie Perez
Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM EDT"Here's what to know
The debris field was left by #Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese #reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. #SpaceForce is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.
"On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert #JonathanMcDowell speculated that a 'battery explosion or an impact by #SpaceDebris' may have caused the breakup.
"Fragments at those heights can stay in orbit for extraordinarily long periods, so a single satellite failure can create a pollution problem that endures for generations.
"That danger is growing in an already crowded orbital environment. The European Space Agency says more than 60 years of space activity have produced over 56,000 tracked objects in orbit. Roughly half of those in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network's catalog are expected to keep circling the planet indefinitely.
"More background
" #SpaceJunk may be easy to overlook because it is out of sight, but it can still have serious consequences for life on the ground. A more dangerous orbital environment raises the risk of collisions that could damage satellites used for #GPS, #InternetAccess, climate monitoring, transportation, and emergency management.
"One major long-term fear is #KesslerSyndrome , a scenario researchers have warned about for years in which one serious collision creates debris that triggers additional collisions in a cascading chain reaction. If that unfolds, some orbital regions could become much more hazardous for spacecraft.
"As Futurism reported, that risk is serious enough that an international team of researchers introduced a 2025 model called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm, or #CRASHClock. They concluded that after a widespread disruptive event, a catastrophic #Kessler cascade could accelerate quickly enough to threaten casualties on the ground within days."
Read more:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-satellite-breaks-unusual-orbit-132200637.html#ASAT #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #China #Satellites #SpySatellite #LEO #SpaceWeather #SpaceWars
-
This happened on September 4 -- 8-9 days before the #USA32 satellite explosion.
A Chinese #satellite has left #SpaceDebris in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.
by Marie Perez
Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM EDT"Here's what to know
The debris field was left by #Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese #reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. #SpaceForce is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.
"On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert #JonathanMcDowell speculated that a 'battery explosion or an impact by #SpaceDebris' may have caused the breakup.
"Fragments at those heights can stay in orbit for extraordinarily long periods, so a single satellite failure can create a pollution problem that endures for generations.
"That danger is growing in an already crowded orbital environment. The European Space Agency says more than 60 years of space activity have produced over 56,000 tracked objects in orbit. Roughly half of those in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network's catalog are expected to keep circling the planet indefinitely.
"More background
" #SpaceJunk may be easy to overlook because it is out of sight, but it can still have serious consequences for life on the ground. A more dangerous orbital environment raises the risk of collisions that could damage satellites used for #GPS, #InternetAccess, climate monitoring, transportation, and emergency management.
"One major long-term fear is #KesslerSyndrome , a scenario researchers have warned about for years in which one serious collision creates debris that triggers additional collisions in a cascading chain reaction. If that unfolds, some orbital regions could become much more hazardous for spacecraft.
"As Futurism reported, that risk is serious enough that an international team of researchers introduced a 2025 model called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm, or #CRASHClock. They concluded that after a widespread disruptive event, a catastrophic #Kessler cascade could accelerate quickly enough to threaten casualties on the ground within days."
Read more:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-satellite-breaks-unusual-orbit-132200637.html#ASAT #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #China #Satellites #SpySatellite #LEO #SpaceWeather #SpaceWars
-
This happened on September 4 -- 8-9 days before the #USA32 satellite explosion.
A Chinese #satellite has left #SpaceDebris in Earth's orbit, adding to the growing clutter that could circle our planet for centuries.
by Marie Perez
Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM EDT"Here's what to know
The debris field was left by #Yaogan 50-02 — a Chinese #reconnaissance satellite that had been flying in an unusual retrograde orbit about 590 miles above Earth, according to Futurism. The U.S. #SpaceForce is tracking 43 fragments from the breakup in orbits ranging from 372 to 683 miles.
"On X, Harvard astronomer and space-tracking expert #JonathanMcDowell speculated that a 'battery explosion or an impact by #SpaceDebris' may have caused the breakup.
"Fragments at those heights can stay in orbit for extraordinarily long periods, so a single satellite failure can create a pollution problem that endures for generations.
"That danger is growing in an already crowded orbital environment. The European Space Agency says more than 60 years of space activity have produced over 56,000 tracked objects in orbit. Roughly half of those in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network's catalog are expected to keep circling the planet indefinitely.
"More background
" #SpaceJunk may be easy to overlook because it is out of sight, but it can still have serious consequences for life on the ground. A more dangerous orbital environment raises the risk of collisions that could damage satellites used for #GPS, #InternetAccess, climate monitoring, transportation, and emergency management.
"One major long-term fear is #KesslerSyndrome , a scenario researchers have warned about for years in which one serious collision creates debris that triggers additional collisions in a cascading chain reaction. If that unfolds, some orbital regions could become much more hazardous for spacecraft.
"As Futurism reported, that risk is serious enough that an international team of researchers introduced a 2025 model called the Collision Realization and Significant Harm, or #CRASHClock. They concluded that after a widespread disruptive event, a catastrophic #Kessler cascade could accelerate quickly enough to threaten casualties on the ground within days."
Read more:
http://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/china-satellite-breaks-unusual-orbit-132200637.html#ASAT #KesslerEffect #LowEarthOrbit #China #Satellites #SpySatellite #LEO #SpaceWeather #SpaceWars