acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

ACM TechNews

Take-Off for U.K.-Built Supercomputer Nanosatellites


View as: Print Mobile App Share:
One of the nanosatellites.

The U.K. this week launched four shoebox-sized nanosatellites into low Earth orbit.

Credit: European Space Agency

The U.K. this week launched four shoebox-sized "nanosatellites" into low Earth orbit.

Two of the Spire satellites are equipped with supercomputers running machine learning algorithms that can make hyper-accurate shipping predictions to support, maritime trade; the other two will be used to enable inter-satellite connections and to relay data between each other and ground stations on Earth.

Built by Spire Global UK, the nanosatellites were funded by the U.K. Space Agency at a cost of £10 million ($12.8 million), as part of the collaborative Pioneer program with the European Space Agency (ESA).

ESA's Elodie Viau said the program aims "to support industry to deliver fast and affordable access to space in the field of telecommunications."

From Gov.UK
View Full Article

 

Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

No entries found

Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account