Technology
Albedo presents observations of Earth up close and personal from very low Earth orbit
Satellite imagery startup Albedo is preparing for its up-close debut.
The first Albedo satellite will land in orbit next spring, and the corporate goals to upend the business Earth remark industry with its novel approach and ultra-high-resolution cameras.
The satellite, called Clarity, will go to very low Earth orbit (VLEO) as part of the joint SpaceX Transporter-13 mission. This mission is currently scheduled to launch no sooner than February 2025, so this time next yr the primary Albedo satellite ought to be in orbit.
Albedo moreover announced seven customers which has reserved some of its imagery work for Clarity, including satellite image broker SkyFi and German utility Open Grid Europe.
“It’s a tight schedule,” said Albedo CEO Topher Haddad. “This is the primary time we’re publicly publishing a mock-up of the satellite. I feel so much of people probably think we’re a relatively small satellite, however it’s quite a posh robotic system with a big aperture telescope and quite powerful capabilities. Much of this schedule was primarily related to the custom technology we developed to support the high resolution system in VLEO.
The startup is developing a first-of-its-kind spacecraft capable of taking extremely high-resolution images operating in very low Earth orbit – the photographs are so sharp, the corporate says, that they’ve historically been the exclusive domain of U.S. defense and intelligence organizations.
The company says it can give you the chance to sell 10-centimeter-per-pixel images to business and government customers at unprecedentedly low prices due to its unique – and quite large – satellite bus. (An image with a resolution of 10 centimeters signifies that each pixel covers an area of the earth measuring 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters. The largest optical imaging providers today collect images at a resolution of 30 centimeters, which is algorithmically refined to fifteen centimeters.)
Satellites that do collect data at a 10-centimeter resolution typically operate at higher orbital altitudes, equivalent to low Earth orbit, and some estimates put each satellite within the billions of dollars to supply and launch. Low Earth orbit is usually defined because the orbital band at an altitude of about 2,000 kilometers, while VLEO is between 250 and 450 kilometers.
When all is alleged and done, the Albedo satellites shall be the scale of fridges, which is significantly larger than many other business Earth remark satellites that currently operate even further from Earth. Creating such heavy satellites seems counterintuitive – you’d think that to counteract increased atmospheric drag it might be needed to make the satellites as light as possible – but Haddad said in a recent interview that the corporate is capable of counteract that drag by utilizing ultra-efficient electric propulsion and specific decisions design issues, equivalent to mounting solar panels on the spacecraft as a substitute of spreading them across two wings.
“Usually you install (solar panels) because you can generate more power that way, but we had to minimize the cross-sectional area so that the mass and the electric drive act to give us the counteracting drag portion,” Haddad explained.
As the corporate moves toward launching hardware into orbit, Kathryn Tobey has been named its first independent director on the now six-member board. Tobey worked for 34 years at Lockheed Martin, where she eventually became vice chairman of its $3 billion Space, Special Programs business line. (Before founding Albedo, Haddad left his job at Lockheed Martin while working on some of the identical systems). This division handled high-tech national security work, including classified projects – exactly the sort of clientele Albedo goals to achieve on the federal government side.
“He brings both of these superpowers, which I think is quite rare, both a deep technical understanding, not only of satellites, but our unique niche of high-performance imaging satellites, and relationships with national security customers and an understanding of this mission very okay well,” Haddad said.
Technology
US medical device giant Artivion says hackers stole files during a cybersecurity incident
Artivion, a medical device company that produces implantable tissue for heart and vascular transplants, says its services have been “disrupted” resulting from a cybersecurity incident.
In 8-K filing In an interview with the SEC on Monday, Georgia-based Artivion, formerly CryoLife, said it became aware of a “cybersecurity incident” that involved the “compromise and encryption” of information on November 21. This suggests that the corporate was attacked by ransomware, but Artivion has not yet confirmed the character of the incident and didn’t immediately reply to TechCrunch’s questions. No major ransomware group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Artivion said it took some systems offline in response to the cyberattack, which the corporate said caused “disruptions to certain ordering and shipping processes.”
Artivion, which reported third-quarter revenue of $95.8 million, said it didn’t expect the incident to have a material impact on the corporate’s funds.
Technology
It’s a Raspberry Pi 5 in a keyboard and it’s called Raspberry Pi 500
Manufacturer of single-board computers Raspberry Pi is updating its cute little computer keyboard device with higher specs. Named Raspberry Pi500This successor to the Raspberry Pi 400 is just as powerful as the present Raspberry Pi flagship, the Raspberry Pi 5. It is on the market for purchase now from Raspberry Pi resellers.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is the simplest method to start with the Raspberry Pi because it’s not as intimidating because the Raspberry Pi 5. When you take a look at the Raspberry Pi 500, you do not see any chipsets or PCBs (printed circuit boards). The Raspberry Pi is totally hidden in the familiar housing, the keyboard.
The idea with the Raspberry Pi 500 is you could connect a mouse and a display and you are able to go. If, for instance, you’ve got a relative who uses a very outdated computer with an outdated version of Windows, the Raspberry Pi 500 can easily replace the old PC tower for many computing tasks.
More importantly, this device brings us back to the roots of the Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi computers were originally intended for educational applications. Over time, technology enthusiasts and industrial customers began using single-board computers all over the place. (For example, when you’ve ever been to London Heathrow Airport, all of the departures and arrivals boards are there powered by Raspberry Pi.)
Raspberry Pi 500 draws inspiration from the roots of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a non-profit organization. It’s the right first computer for college. In some ways, it’s a lot better than a Chromebook or iPad because it’s low cost and highly customizable, which inspires creative pondering.
The Raspberry Pi 500 comes with a 32GB SD card that comes pre-installed with Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It costs $90, which is a slight ($20) price increase over the Raspberry Pi 400.
Only UK and US keyboard variants will probably be available at launch. But versions with French, German, Italian, Japanese, Nordic and Spanish keyboard layouts will probably be available soon. And when you’re in search of a bundle that features all the things you would like, Raspberry Pi also offers a $120 desktop kit that features the Raspberry Pi 500, a mouse, a 27W USB-C power adapter, and a micro-HDMI to HDMI cable.
In other news, Raspberry Pi has announced one other recent thing: the Raspberry Pi monitor. It is a 15.6-inch 1080p monitor that’s priced at $100. Since there are quite a few 1080p portable monitors available on the market, this launch is not as noteworthy because the Pi 500. However, for die-hard Pi fans, there’s now also a Raspberry Pi-branded monitor option available.
Technology
Apple Vision Pro may add support for PlayStation VR controllers
According to Apple, Apple desires to make its Vision Pro mixed reality device more attractive for gamers and game developers latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The Vision Pro was presented more as a productivity and media consumption device than a tool geared toward gamers, due partly to its reliance on visual and hand controls moderately than a separate controller.
However, Apple may need gamers if it desires to expand the Vision Pro’s audience, especially since Gurman reports that lower than half one million units have been sold to this point. As such, the corporate has reportedly been in talks with Sony about adding support for PlayStation VR2 handheld controllers, and has also talked to developers about whether they may support the controllers of their games.
Offering more precise control, Apple may also make other forms of software available in Vision Pro, reminiscent of Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
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