Tracking Satellites Through Crowdsourcing (axios.com) 30
A newly announced project called TruSat uses crowdsourced data to track satellites in an effort to hold companies and nations operating in space accountable. From a report: Space junk is a growing concern for those in the space industry, as companies plan to send thousands of satellites to orbit in the coming years. Having reliable means of tracking those satellites and any space junk created from them will be key to creating a sustainable space economy. Today, governments and other organizations are trying to create standards to help limit the amount of space junk produced in orbit. Instead of relying on information from governments or companies and tracking data from the U.S. Air Force, TruSat will use data collected by people on the ground observing satellites from their own backyards. There is already a vibrant community of people around the world who track satellites with binoculars or cameras from the ground and share that information with one another. Users of TruSat are able to enter tracking information for satellites they observe into the program, where it will be included in a crowdsourced record showing the tracks of satellites in the night sky.
Cool crowdsourcing project (Score:2)
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Starlink shouldn't result in considerably more space junk. The sattelites will be launched in bulk, so each set will not produce more junk than any other launch. They'll also be in a low orbit, which means atmospheric drag will de-orbit any inactive sattelites faily quickly.
Is this a joke? (Score:2)
Really, is this a joke?
It uses _blockchain_... why??
We're going to actively track satellite ephemerides by crowd-sourcing people standing outside with their cellphones, manually entering the time a satellite is visually observed at particular points in the sky? And then at a hand-wavy future time by relying on good smartphone cameras?
Their whitepaper is filled with lots of crap about the philosophical reasoning, but very thin on technical details: https://www.trusat.org/whitepa... [trusat.org]
Nice idea, but seems like B
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Worse:
Space sustainability advocates keep the system focused on the highest space sustainability priorities. And they can use TruSat’s transparent record to foster accountability for sustainable orbital operations.
(https://www.trusat.org/about)
Seems like a platform for SJWs to target companies they don't like.
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Think whatever you want. I call out bullshit on all sides of the political arena.
This particular bullshit has the distinct scent of what is commonly referred to as "SJW", used to refer to those who take being "politically correct" to the absurd.
For some related commentary, see a fantastic interview with Barack Obama from the last day or so, on "woke" culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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Ideological faults are always worth examining. If an organization claiming to be for the public good has a hidden (perhaps even unintended) agenda, it's important for people to be aware of that.
In this case, it's clear from their whitepaper (and website in general) that they are more ideologically-focused than technically-focused. I think that warrants particularly detailed scrutiny of the motivations involved. Would you disagree? Would you feel differently if the group was funded by a right-wing think-tank
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Perhaps. Then again, it's clear from the other sub-thread that you're a member of the community you're defending, so I'll take everything you say with a grain of salt. It's incredible that you apparently have a relatively high intelligence, yet have such a myopic view of the world as to not see the bigotry inherent in "SJW" political views. (I'm referring, here, to the other sub-thread.)
You are part of the problem. And the sad part is that you can't see it because you only see your point of view.
On a positi
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Astounding.
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Very funny, but I'm sure you're aware that it is your disconnect from reality that's astounding.
If you're in a major city in the US or East Asia I'd be happy to grab a beer sometime and discuss further. (Seriously.)
Otherwise, I think we're done here. Good day.
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Re: Is this a joke? (Score:1)
I would definitely purchase a self-aligning telescope and digital camera eyepiece and upload data if they had a system to provide coordinates they're interested in and had a way to validate the footage (i'm not sure I could make sat hunting a nightly routine though).
I can't wait to see how this project progresses.
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What is blockchain good for? Answer, detecting tampering.
You can't imagine how that could be relevant here?
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Not on a project where _anyone_ can create data for submission, no.
NASA needs to keep going... (Score:2)
There's something not explained here... what protects this system from bogus reports?
If this database isn't checked from the outside of this group, it's not going to work right. So, NASA needs to keep going on there space junk efforts in order to keep things in space safe.
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everything old is new again (Operation Moonwatch) (Score:3)
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Doesn't someone do that already? (Score:2)
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Their data is derived from the NORAD dataset, which is largely complete except for DoD and presumably allied space assets. It's kind of a silly omission, as tracking these assets is well within the realm of capability for a dedicated amateur, never mind other nation states.
That said, this plays out in interesting ways. Years ago, i worked for an organization that was building X-Band satcom gear for various military customers. I built up a catalogue of the satellites by patiently scanning the satellite arc w
Follow the money (Score:1)
What does it do? (Score:2)