Hacker News with Generative AI: Satellite Technology

Rival to SpaceX's Starlink Goes Dark After Failing to Account for Leap Year (gizmodo.com)
French satellite operator Eutelsat failed to account for last year’s leap year, leading to an embarrassing service outage that lasted for 48 hours.
Satellite powered estimation of global solar potential (research.google)
High-quality satellite digital surface models and roof segmentation power Google Maps Platform Solar API expansion in the global south and reduce global revisit times.
Europe's Starlink competitor is go (theverge.com)
The EU has signed a deal for its IRIS² constellation of 290 communication satellites that will operate in both medium and low Earth orbit.
T-Mobile users can try Starlink-enabled phone service for free during beta (arstechnica.com)
T-Mobile today said it opened registration for the "T-Mobile Starlink" beta service that will enable text messaging via satellites in dead zones not covered by cell towers.
EU signs $11B deal for sovereign satellite constellation to rival Starlink (techcrunch.com)
The European Union is forging ahead with plans for a constellation of internet satellites to rival Elon Musk-owned Starlink, after signing a €10.6 billion ($11.1B) deal to launch nearly 300 satellites into low- and medium-Earth orbits by 2030.
Starlink's first constellation of direct-to-phone satellites is now in orbit (newatlas.com)
SpaceX has launched 20 of its Starlink satellites up into Earth's orbit, enabling direct-to-cellphone connectivity for subscribers anywhere on the planet.
Dutch children's channel outages caused by Russian sabotage of six satellites (nltimes.nl)
An extensive Russian offensive on European satellites was behind several disruptions to the children’s channel BabyTV, in which Russian propaganda played on the channel multiple times in the spring, Nieuwsuur discovered.
Starlink satellites' leaky radio waves obscure the cosmos (sciencenews.org)
While SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are enabling internet access and cell phone communications around the globe, they’re also posing a threat to radio astronomy, a new study suggests.
Astronomers Push FCC to Halt New Starlink Launches, Citing Environment (pcmag.com)
A group of 120 astronomers and space experts is calling for a pause on new Starlink launches from SpaceX until the US can fully investigate the environmental effects of large satellite constellations.
First Greenhouse Gas Plumes Detected with NASA-Designed Instrument (nasa.gov)
Using data from an instrument designed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the nonprofit Carbon Mapper has released the first methane and carbon dioxide detections from the Tanager-1 satellite.
Keep Track: 3D Satellite Toolkit (keeptrack.space)
Starlink's new satellites emit 30x more radio interference than before (theregister.com)
The second generation of Starlink satellites being lobbed into orbit by SpaceX might not reflect as much sunlight as the old ones, yet astronomers say they're leaking up to 32 times the unintended radio waves instead.
Astronomers work with SpaceX on Starlink satellites radio telescope interference (newscientist.com)
AT&T Gets a Wrist Slap for Advertising a Satellite Calling That Doesn't Exist (techdirt.com)
China launches first satellites for Thousand Sails megaconstellation (spacenews.com)
How bad are satellite megaconstellations for astronomy? (leonarddavid.com)
View sky pollution by Starlink satellites in stellarium (ycombinator.com)