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Toulouse-based space tech Infinite Orbits bags €12 million to build first life extension satellite
May 13, 2024
The French new space in-orbit services company Infinite Orbits raised a €12 million round led by Newfund Capital along with the EIC Fund, IRDI Capital Investissement and Space Founders France. The main objective of this fundraising is enabling Infinite Orbits to accelerate the development of its main project “Endurance”, a Life Extension satellite for space assets.
Endurance will empower satellite operators to optimize their fleet management strategies while increasing their return on investment through adding years to the life of their satellites. Endurance is planned to demonstrate the first European Life Extension mission in 2026.
“Last year, we already achieved a major step: we are the first startup in the world to have a commercial nanosatellite in geostationary orbit, we formed a key alliance with satellite operator Intelsat to develop services for its fleet. With four major clients, including Azercosmos, Intelsat, CNES and Hispasat, the Company has closed its second year of revenues and is on a strong growth path to cross the €60 million figure in 2027,” explained Adel Haddoud, CEO of Infinite Orbits. “And as a commercially driven company, the next logical step for us is to offer all GEO operators new reliable and competitive services such as Life Extension.”
Founded in 2017, Infinite Orbits’ Endurance will be operated by Infinite Orbit’s RPO technology (Rendezvous and Proximity Operations), an autonomous vision based navigation technology that allows assets in space to approach and dock to one another. RPO technology will pave the way towards a sustainable utilization of space resources, allowing for a durable space environment. The technology is designed to be replicated for advanced in-orbit services, including close inspection, re-fueling, in-space manufacturing and many more applications yet to materialize following the spectacular growth of satellites launched in recent years.
The verification and validation roadmap of Infinite Orbits’ technology started in 2019 with key technology partnerships including ESA & CNES and with funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC), bpifrance, La Region Occitanie. This roadmap has led to the launch of Infinite Orbits’ Orbit Guard™ #1 to GEO orbit on May 1st 2023, carrying the first version of Infinite Orbits technology.
“We are thrilled to partner with a company like Infinite Orbits, perfectly embodying our commitment to backing deeptech ventures with the potential to lead globally,” said Salim Hassad, Investment Director at Newfund. “Infinite Orbits stands out with its exceptional founding team, robust technological foundation, and promising commercial trajectory. We are confident that Infinite Orbits will not only excel in the in-orbit servicing sector but also emerge as a future international champion.“
https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/05/toulouse-based-space-tech-infinite-orbits-bags-e12-million-to-build-first-life-extension-satellite/
Breaking exascale barrier: US tops supercomputer list with Frontier, Aurora
May 14, 2024 07:39 AM EST
The US Department of Energy (DOE) just delivered a one-two punch to the world of supercomputing with their Aurora system officially cracking the exascale barrier.
This epic achievement puts the US firmly in the lead, boasting the top two most powerful supercomputers on the planet, according to the latest Top500 list unveiled at the 2024 ISC High-Performance conference.
“The Department of Energy is thrilled by the Aurora team’s achievement,” said Geraldine Richmond, DOE’s Under Secretary for Science and Innovation.
“Aurora is expanding US leadership in advanced scientific computing and will provide researchers with a unique instrument to meld simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analysis.”
“Frontier and Aurora will be pivotal tools in advancing trustworthy AI as we focus on harnessing AI’s potential while understanding and managing its risks,” she added.
What exactly is exascale?
Exascale computing achieves a minimum of one exaflop of calculations per second, enabling complex tasks like modeling, simulation, AI, and analytics. An exaflop denotes one quadrillion high-precision calculations per second, showcasing the immense computational power of these cutting-edge machines.
The Aurora supercomputer reached a performance milestone of 1.012 exaflops, making it one of only two officially recognized exascale systems globally.
Collaborative effort
This achievement wasn’t a solo act. The Aurora supercomputer, built at Argonne National Laboratory, is a collaborative effort between the DOE, Intel, and HPE. It’s a behemoth, housing a mind-boggling 10,624 computing nodes, each wielding the power of 63,744 Intel GPUs – the same tech driving the AI revolution. These processing monsters are all connected via HPE’s high-speed Slingshot interconnect, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
The current benchmark only tapped into 87% of what Aurora can do. Therefore, we have held onto our hats because even more incredible scientific discoveries are coming as the system reaches its maximum potential.
Top500 champion: Frontier
Frontier, which has been steadily flexing its muscles since its 2022 debut as the Top500 champion. Both teams at Argonne and Oak Ridge collaborate closely, and Frontier has already made significant scientific waves.
It snagged two prestigious Association for Computing Machinery Gordon Bell prizes – one for a groundbreaking approach to material discovery using the largest-ever simulation of an alloy, and another for a major leap in cloud modeling related to DOE’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM).
The power of Aurora isn’t lost on the research community. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, home to both Aurora and other cutting-edge systems, has facilitated the Aurora Early Science Program and DOE’s Exascale Computing Project.
These programs allow researchers to test the waters with Aurora, pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration. Think about projects like creating new materials and pharmaceuticals to figuring out things about physics and cosmology – that’s the kind of potential Aurora holds.
Meanwhile, China experienced a decline in rankings, and Europe has surpassed Asia in representation. The new addition to the TOP500 list is the Alps system from the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre.
In energy efficiency, JEDI from Germany claimed the top spot on the GREEN500 list, while Frontier secured the 11th position, with its 52.93 GFlops/Watt score.
FASST
These two supercomputing powerhouses form the bedrock of the DOE’s recently announced FASST (Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology) initiative.
FASST aims to leverage the vast scientific data troves housed within the DOE to fuel AI development, propel next-generation AI platforms and infrastructure, and build secure and dependable AI models. Ultimately, FASST seeks to harness this transformative technology to tackle the nation’s most pressing challenges in science, energy, and national security.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/top-supercomputer-frontier-aurora
Geomagnetic storm shows need for space weather forecasts
13 May 2024
From 10-13 May, aurorae (typically seen at the polar areas) could be seen at unusually low latitudes.
Spectacular sightings of aurorae borealis (the northern hemisphere) were observed from e.g. Florida, Italy and Spain and aurorae australis (the southern hemisphere) were reported as far north as Queensland in Australia.
This was the result of an extreme (the highest category) geomagnetic storm from a series of coronal mass ejections (CME’s) – clouds of plasma material that are expelled from the Sun with high velocity into the interplanetary space.
These plasma clouds carry magnetic field which interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field when it finds our planet on its path through interplanetary space.
While aurorae are a delightful spectacle, geomagnetic storms also have potentially disrupting impacts such as the stress they can impose on the power grid due to induced currents in power lines, and possible impacts on communication and satellite operations.
The latest geomagnetic storm followed earlier elevated solar activity. So called active regions, concentrations of magnetic flux on the solar surface, have over the past week released several top-category X class flares, bursts of electromagnetic wave emission.
These flares impact the Earths ionosphere causing (high frequency) radio blackouts on the sunlit side of the Earth, and they can also result in perturbations or interruptions of satellite navigation services.
“Such solar events happen regularly, with their occurrence rate following an eleven year cycle associated with the inversion of the overall Solar magnetic field each eleven years,” says Jesse Andries, scientific officer with WMO’s Space Programme.
“We are currently nearing the maximum of the present cycle with Solar events occurring most frequently. While Solar events appear regularly, this recent geomagnetic storm is certainly one of the largest in several decades,” he says.
Fortunately, space weather monitoring and prediction is more and more becoming an operational practice just as terrestrial weather is. The latest event was accurately forecast.
Space weather forecasters around the world monitor the sun closely. They report each day on the evolution of active regions on the solar surface and they estimate the probability for large flares to occur.
They furthermore record the properties of the onset of coronal mass ejections which they feed to models which then allow them to estimate the expected time of arrival at Earth.
Based on these analyses, critical sectors and the general public are notified in advance of upcoming events, so they can take protective measures, such as deviating flight routes away from the poles.
WMO has been making efforts to integrate Space Weather within its activities for over a decade and has embraced it as a related environmental service in its Strategic Plan.
The WMO Executive Council meeting in June is due to adopt a new Four-year Plan for WMO Activities related to Space Weather (2024-2027). This was recently approved by the WMO Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information systems (INFCOM).
The plan addresses the three main pillars of the WMO Infrastructure: observing infrastructure, modelling and prediction, and data exchange.
Furthermore, it seeks to advance the capabilities of WMO Members to provide valuable services to various economic sectors that are prone to threats from Solar eruptions and consequent Space Weather phenomena.
https://wmo.int/media/news/geomagnetic-storm-shows-need-space-weather-forecasts
Bloke spots hundreds of tiny 'dancing orbs' during Northern Lights that 'could be UFOs'
UPDATED 23:13, 12 MAY 2024
A bloke spotted hundreds of tiny "dancing orbs" when looking out at the Northern Lights and believes he may have seen a fleet of UFOs.
Posting a video of the skies in south Norway, the man was left flummoxed by the appearance of hundreds of shapeshifting lights and believes the lights could either be from a far off festival or beings from outer space.
His post to Reddit garnered hundreds of upvotes and commenters concerned we were being invaded by beings from beyond the stars.
Regardless of what the lights represented, viewers were left stunned by one of "the coolest videos" they had ever seen. One user wrote the video was "super neat" and another said it was "beautiful".
Others questioned whether user CrayRazy had captured evidence of life from other planets. He wrote: "Saw this tonight in the south of Norway.
At first I thought it was light beams from a festival but I live in a tiny city and that cloud is either over mountains, a lake or just a residential area.
"Really confused to what this could be. Any ideas?"
Other users were left wondering if the lights in the sky were the recent sightings of aurora borealis, but one pointed out: "Aurora borealis is way higher up."
Another wrote: "UFOs are popping up for this storm. I saw one here". A third added: "I don't know, looks like a lot of shiny orbs. There seems to be a lot of UFO activity around this solar event!"
Other Reddit users were left less convinced by the appearance of aliens and wondered whether it was in fact a solar storm taking place in the area.
One said: "We are having a solar storm. The whole northern hemisphere is capable of seeing the aurora borealis."
The original poster replied: "That's why I went outside but that doesn't look like the northern lights at all."
While a definitive answer was unavailable on what had caused the hundreds of tiny orbs to appear, some were adamant it was not UFOs and just a collection of northern lights sightings. But that's what they want you to think.
One user wrote: "It’s definitely the northern lights. I live in the Northwest Territories in Canada and you see that exact same thing from time to time.
Nothing to get worked up about. Enjoy the show!"
Another claimed: "It’s definitely the aurora borealis, but people here don’t want to believe it. It’s much more fun to think it’s something unexplained."
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/bloke-spots-hundreds-tiny-dancing-32792809
At least 8 people killed in Florida bus crash; dozens injured
Updated on: May 14, 2024 / 12:37 PM EDT
At least eight people were killed in a bus crash on a Florida highway Tuesday morning, the Florida Highway Patrol said. According to the highway patrol, the bus collided with a pickup truck on state road 40 in Marion County, which is located south of Gainesville and northwest of Orlando.
Approximately 40 people, including the truck driver, were taken to area hospitals after the crash, Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Riordan said during a news conference. Some of the injured were in very serious condition, Riordan said.
The crash involved a bus transporting about 53 farm workers and a 2001 Ford Ranger truck, the highway patrol said in a statement to CBS News.
The retired school bus was traveling west on the highway and the pickup truck was going east when the truck moved toward the center line at around 6:35 a.m., Riordan said.
The bus and truck collided in "a sideswipe-type manner," Riordan said. The collision sent the bus off the road and it went through a fence and hit a tree before it overturned.
It wasn't immediately known why the truck moved toward the center line, Riordan said.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office said on social media the part of the highway where the crash occurred would be shut down for most of the day.
The highway patrol is investigating the crash. Riordan said investigators will need at least six months to conduct the investigation.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-bus-crash-marion-county-people-killed/