Lifeboat Foundation

High-speed free-space data transmission could improve connectivity for space missions.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have achieved record-breaking data transmission speeds using plasmonic modulators, promising advancements in space communication and potential global high-speed internet access. With speeds potentially reaching 1.4 Tbit/s, this technology could change how the world connects.

Scientists have achieved data rates as high as 424Gbit/s across a 53-km (33-mile) turbulent free-space optical link using plasmonic modulators—devices that use special light waves called surface plasmon polaritons to control and modify optical signals. This new research establishes the foundation for high-speed optical communication links that transmit data through open air or space.

“When a new user logs into the server, it immediately stops all ‘noisy’ activities, lying dormant until the server is idle again. After execution, it deletes its binary and continues to run quietly in the background as a service.”

It’s worth noting that some aspects of the campaign were disclosed last month by Cado Security, which detailed an activity cluster that targets internet-exposed Selenium Grid instances with both cryptocurrency mining and proxyjacking software.

Specifically, the fileless perfctl malware has been found to exploit a security flaw in Polkit (CVE-2021–4043, aka PwnKit) to escalate privileges to root and drop a miner called perfcc.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing for the second flight of its Vulcan Centaur rocket this week. The mission will see Vulcan carry an inert payload to orbit alongside some experiments and demonstrations and will complete its certification process with the U.S. Space Force (USSF).

SpaceX has delayed missions this week following an off-nominal deorbit burn of a Falcon 9 second stage following the Crew-9 mission. The stage landed in the South Pacific Ocean but outside of the defined reentry corridor. While the team investigates, the company has rescheduled Monday’s planned launch of its OneWeb mission out of Vandenberg to next week, while a Starlink mission will now fly from the Cape this week on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Continue reading “Launch Roundup: Vulcan ready for second flight; Hera mission set to study asteroid” »

Starship is the world’s largest and most powerful rocket and is shaping up to be the rocket that will finally realize the company’s dream, sourced from Elon Musk, of making humans a multi-planetary species. With a few Starship launches under its belt SpaceX is full steam ahead to achieving its goal, but it appears its being blocked by US regulators more than necessary, at least according to SpaceX.

Despite its goals, we have now learned an approximate figure SpaceX has spent on Starship’s development, with the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Gwynne Shotwell, saying in front of the Texas Appropriations Committee for Texas Space Commission that SpaceX has invested $3 billion into developing Starship and its surrounding facilities. Shotwell also pointed out SpaceX is about to break through the four million mark for Starlink customers and that as the network grows, it plans to expand its facilities and put more Starlink satellites in orbit.

Its 1 million-square-foot facility promises to become more efficient at manufacturing printed circuit boards than rival factories in Southeast Asia, SpaceX’s president tells Texas lawmakers.

The decision locks libraries into an ecosystem that is not in readers’ interests. Congress must act.

Last week, team scientists and the internet alike were amazed when Perseverance spotted a black-and-white striped rock unlike any seen on Mars before. Is this a sign of exciting discoveries to come?

I’m actually getting Starlink because it’s competitively priced, and I can walk to my local Grocery Store up the street, and order it.

President Ruto had on Monday during a business roundtable meeting revealed that Starlink’s entry into the Kenyan market faced a lot of resistance from local players who felt the foreign firm’s entry would eat into their market share.

Ruto admitted during the roundtable that Kenya would be seeking more competitors in a bid to revolutionize the digital space in Kenya.

Continue reading “Elon Musk Breaks Silence on Starlink Impact in Kenya” »

A team of scientists has unlocked the potential of 6G communications with a new polarization multiplexer. Terahertz communications represent the next frontier in wireless technology, promising data transmission rates far exceeding current systems.

By operating at terahertz frequencies, these systems can support unprecedented bandwidth, enabling ultra-fast wireless communication and data transfer. However, one of the significant challenges in terahertz communications is effectively managing and utilizing the available spectrum.

The team has developed the first ultra-wideband integrated terahertz polarization (de)multiplexer implemented on a substrateless silicon base which they have successfully tested in the sub-terahertz J-band (220–330 GHz) for 6G communications and beyond.