satellite Archives - Disasters News

May152025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Powerful Solar Flares Trigger Global Radio Blackouts, Signal Intensifying Sun Activity

The sun erupted with two massive solar flares early Wednesday, including the strongest of 2025 so far an X2.7-class flare causing widespread shortwave radio blackouts across at least five continents. The event came just a day after NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured another major eruption, an X1.2-class flare, in a dramatic image. Solar flares are categorized by intensity, with X-class being the most powerful. Wednesday’s solar storm peaked at 4:25 a.m. ET, delivering a strong burst of plasma and charged particles into space. This flare followed an M5.3-class flare several hours earlier, further underscoring the heightened solar activity. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, these intense flares disrupted high-frequency radio communications in parts of Nor...

Feb262025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

AI Powered Satellite System Reveals Stark Green Space Inequality in Karachi

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space, Tech

A research team led by NYU Associate Professor Rumi Chunara has developed an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system that accurately tracks urban green spaces using satellite imagery offering a crucial tool for healthier city planning. The system significantly outperforms traditional methods, which have historically failed to capture up to 37% of urban vegetation. Breaking New Ground in Urban Mapping To validate their approach, researchers tested the system in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, known for its mix of dense urban sprawl and highly varied vegetation. The AI, built on enhanced DeepLabV3+ segmentation models, was trained using a technique called ‘green augmentation,’ which adjusts training data to account for different lighting and seasonal conditions. This innovation ...

Feb242025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

How Satellites AI Supercomputers Are Changing the Battle Against Wildfires

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Learning & Developments, Space, Tech

As wildfires raged through Los Angeles in January 2025, cutting-edge technology played a crucial role in firefighting efforts. Satellites, artificial intelligence, and advanced computer models helped firefighters track, predict, and combat the fast-moving blazes. Fire detection has come a long way from the early 20th-century lookout towers built after the devastating Great Fire of 1910. Today, California alone has over 1,100 cameras scanning for smoke, with AI continuously analyzing images to detect fires before they spread. NOAA satellites provide real-time heat signatures, fire perimeter mapping, and air quality assessments. Once a fire is detected, predicting its behavior becomes essential. Advanced computer simulations use fuel models, terrain data, and real-time weather forecast...

Feb122025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Satellite Data Uncovers Years of Warning Signs Before Anak Krakatau’s Devastating 2018 Eruption and Tsunami

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Tech

A groundbreaking analysis of satellite data has revealed that the catastrophic 2018 eruption and collapse of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano which triggered a deadly tsunami was preceded by years of subtle but accelerating movements along its mountainside. Researchers at Penn State University found that the volcano's flank had been slipping for over a decade, showing signs that could have potentially served as an early warning if monitored in real time. The study, recently published in Geophysical Research Letters, highlights how advanced radar satellites can detect minute ground deformations, helping scientists track unstable ocean volcanoes and predict possible collapses before they occur. "Ocean volcanoes, when unstable, can collapse catastrophically and generate tsunamis," expl...

Jan142025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Dr. V. Narayanan Takes Charge as ISRO Chief, Secretary of Space Department

Breaking News, Space, Thoughts & Talks

On January 14, 2025, Dr. V. Narayanan, a distinguished scientist and pioneer in India’s space propulsion systems, assumed charge as Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman of the Space Commission, and Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). His extensive contributions to India’s space programs have positioned him as a key figure in the country’s advancements in space technology and exploration. Dr. Narayanan’s career at ISRO spans four decades, beginning in 1984. Prior to his new role, he served as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), where he led the development of cutting-edge propulsion systems, including liquid, semi-cryogenic, and cryogenic technologies for launch vehicles, as well as chemical and electric propulsion systems for satellite...

Jan132025 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Winter Storm Paralyzes Mid-Atlantic as NOAA Satellites Prove Vital

Breaking News, Climate Actions, Disasters, Space, Tech

On January 6, 2025, a ferocious winter storm swept through Washington, D.C., and the Mid-Atlantic region, bringing life to a halt with heavy snowfall, icy winds, and widespread disruptions. As the storm wreaked havoc across states, NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) played a critical role in forecasting and mitigating its impact, proving indispensable in the face of extreme weather. The storm began its journey across the Central Plains, leaving a trail of heavy snow and plunging temperatures in states like Missouri, Kansas, and Ohio. By the time it reached the Mid-Atlantic, it had gathered strength, blanketing Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia in thick layers of snow. In the nation’s capital, over five inches of snow accumulated by eve...

Dec312024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

ISRO’s SpaDeX Mission: India’s First Step Towards Its Own Space Station

Breaking News, Learning & Developments, Space, Tech

New Delhi: India is poised to achieve a historic milestone in space exploration with the launch of ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission. Scheduled to lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 10:00 PM IST on December 30, SpaDeX marks the final and most ambitious mission of 2024 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This pioneering mission is a critical step toward India establishing its own space station, the Bharatiya Antriksh Station, by 2035. If successful, India will join an elite group of nations the United States, Russia, and China that possess the capability to dock spacecraft in space. What is the SpaDeX Mission? SpaDeX, or Space Docking Experiment, is designed to test and demonstrate the complex docking p...

Dec62024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

ISRO Successfully Launches PROBA-3 Satellite for European Space Agency

Breaking News, Space, Tech

In a significant achievement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) PROBA-3 satellite aboard its trusted Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C59) on its 61st commercial mission. The launch signifies another milestone in India’s growing prominence in the global space sector and highlights international collaboration in cutting-edge space exploration. PROBA-3, short for Project for Onboard Anatomy, is a groundbreaking solar mission by the ESA. The mission is specifically designed to study the Sun's corona, the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, with unprecedented precision. The mission consists of two spacecraft, each designed to perform a unique and interdependent role. The Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC), weighing 31...

Nov202024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

SpaceX’s Sixth Starship Test Flight Marks Key Milestone for NASA’s Artemis Program

Breaking News, Space, Tech

SpaceX achieved another major milestone on Wednesday with the successful sixth flight test of its Starship spacecraft. Launched from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, the uncrewed mission demonstrated the spacecraft's advanced capabilities, achieving a suborbital trajectory before reentering over the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the Super Heavy booster executed a planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. “Splashdown confirmed! Congratulations to the entire SpaceX team on an exciting sixth flight test of Starship!” the company announced on X (formerly Twitter). The mission tested Starship’s endurance under extreme conditions, including a steeper reentry angle and reduced protective shielding. The spacecraft's Raptor engines successfully restarted in space, a critical step toward achieving orbit...

Nov132024 by Editor DeskNo Comments

Solar Surge Curtin University’s Binar Satellites Lost to High Solar Activity

Breaking News, Idea & Innovations, Space, Tech

Three Australian CubeSats from Curtin University's Binar Space Program recently burned up in Earth's atmosphere after only two months in orbit one-third of their expected mission duration. Named Binar-2, 3, and 4, these satellites were intended to last around six months in low Earth orbit but met an untimely end due to unexpected solar activity. In fact, “Binar” fittingly means “fireball” in Noongar, an Indigenous Australian language. Launched to gather scientific data and test new systems, the Binar satellites faced increased atmospheric drag caused by the Sun’s heightened activity. The Sun is currently in the peak phase of its 11-year solar cycle, known as solar cycle 25, during which solar flares, solar winds, and charged particles intensify. Recent solar indicators have shown activi...