TYB
UAE Pavilion showcases defence, space innovation at BIAS 2024
15 Nov 2024
he UAE Pavilion at the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2024 features key Emirati companies across the defence, aerospace, and space sectors, demonstrating the UAE’s commitment to regional partnerships and innovation.
The participation in the pavilion, one of five countries' pavilions at BIAS 2024, demonstrates the commitment to advancing the region's aerospace and defence capabilities and underscoring the strong relationship between Bahrain and the UAE.
Representing the Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (GAL), Ahmed Alanezy, Senior Vice President of Business Development, highlighted GAL’s comprehensive role as a manpower and logistics service provider for the UAE Ministry of Defence.
"We support various entities within the UAE Armed Forces, including the Air Force and Air Defence, with over 5,000 personnel deployed across locations," Alanezy noted.
GAL is keen on fostering collaborative initiatives under the Emirates Defense Companies Council (EDCC).
Alanezy emphasised GAL's pride in representing UAE’s defence capabilities at the pavilion, adding, “We look forward to continuing our participation in future editions of the Bahrain International Airshow”.
Jasem Al Marzooqi, Chief Executive Officer of AMMROC, showcased the company’s expertise in aviation maintenance, particularly with its unique regional capabilities as an authorised service centre for Lockheed Martin and Blackhawk Aerospace.
“We provide maintenance services for over 75 platform types and are the only authorised service centre outside the US for Blackhawk,” Al Marzooqi stated.
The UAE Space Agency, represented by Abdulla Al Shehhi, Head of Strategic Research, showcased the nation’s latest advancements in space exploration, including a planned mission to the asteroid belt.
"Following the success of the Emirates Mars Mission, our focus is now on a complex mission to explore six asteroids and land on a seventh within the asteroid belt," Al Shehhi explained.
The mission, scheduled for launch in early 2028, aims to bolster the UAE’s scientific and engineering community by providing opportunities for Emirati graduates and researchers to engage in advanced space research.
“This mission will contribute to developing new technologies and strengthening the UAE’s presence in space exploration,” he added.
Khaled Almarzooqi, CEO of MIRA Aerospace, spoke about MIRA’s specialised high-altitude platform system (HAPS), a drone designed to operate from the stratosphere for earth observation and telecommunications.
“Our HAPS can reach altitudes of 60,000 feet, well above weather patterns and air traffic, providing valuable data and communication capabilities,” Almarzooqi highlighted.
As part of Space 42, MIRA Aerospace leverages its participation in the BIAS to expand its regional and international partnerships.
“The Bahrain International Airshow is a key event for us, bringing exposure to the regional market and enhancing collaborations with global stakeholders in the aerospace sector,” he noted.
The UAE’s prominent participation at the BIAS reflects the deep-rooted ties between Bahrain and the UAE.
By showcasing its advanced capabilities and signing significant partnerships with Bahraini counterparts, the UAE reinforces its commitment to regional security and technological innovation.
The pavilion serves as a testament to the collaborative spirit between the two nations, fostering a future of shared goals in aerospace, defence, and space exploration.
https://www.bna.bh/en/UAEPavilionshowcasesdefencespaceinnovationatBIAS2024.aspx
New 'spectral fingerprint' atlas of satellites aims to improve space security
November 12, 2024
University of Arizona researchers have created the first astronomical equivalent of a fingerprint database for satellites, a critical first step toward easily identifying human-made objects in the increasingly crowded geostationary orbit.
This database, or spectral atlas, includes 96 satellites in the geostationary orbit, or GEO – home to satellites used for communications, imaging, navigation and other purposes – that are visible from Tucson.
Adam Battle, a Ph.D. candidate in the U of A Lunar and Planetary Laboratory supported by the Space4 Center, led the research, which was published Tuesday in The Planetary Science Journal.
"Satellites look like tiny dots in the sky, even through most telescopes. For decades, humans have launched tens of thousands of objects into space with no mechanism for identifying them easily," Battle said.
"This is the first time this sort of systematic, big atlas of spectral data has been collected for these objects. It gives us a baseline for differentiating space objects, for knowing where everything is and what has changed and keeping that space safe."
The United States Space Surveillance Network, part of the U.S. Space Command, tracks more than 45,000 artificial objects in Earth's orbit, including about 350 active payloads in GEO.
The GEO belt is a unique orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth's equator. Satellites in GEO orbit at the same rate and direction as Earth; from the ground, they appear to stand still.
Only so many orbital slots are available in GEO, making them valuable to companies and nations looking to put satellites there.
The average lifespan of a satellite in GEO is about 15 to 20 years, after which they are maneuvered into a higher, "graveyard" orbit where they remain as space junk.
"The orbital space around the Earth is getting congested, and we unfortunately do not have license places for satellites to identify them easily.
This work is the first step towards making space safe, secure and sustainable," said Vishnu Reddy, director of the university's Space4 Center and a planetary science professor who co-authored the paper. Reddy, Battle's Ph.D. advisor, initiated the project when he started at the U of A nearly a decade ago.
Other co-authors of the research include Roberto Furfaro, professor of systems and industrial engineering and Space4 deputy director, and Space4 Center software engineer Tanner Campbell.
The U of A team used the power of spectroscopy to create the atlas.
With spectroscopy, the team can measure how the sun's light interacts with materials on the satellites like metals, paint and solar panels, and how these interactions change with illumination conditions.
The results are a detailed pattern of colors for those unique conditions – a color fingerprint – that can be used to identify that specific object.
Using a telescope built by U of A students and housed on campus, Battle observed objects in GEO for 192 nights during every season between January 2020 and June 2022, except for the cloudy summer months.
A typical night's worth of observing involved imaging one object every 45 seconds for the entire night. This generated 284 separate datasets and about 190,000 spectra.
As part of his study, Battle focused on repeated observations of five satellite bus types – the central structure to which communications arrays, thrusters and solar panels are mounted – to determine how their spectra varied over nights and seasons and how they differed from the spectra of natural objects.
The resulting atlas contains the unique detailed patterns of colors for 96 individual satellites observed in GEO from Tucson.
"Historically, scientists have used brightness measurements, as the phase angle changes.
But using spectroscopy allows you to add another layer of information, and the ultimate goal is to be able to uniquely identify different satellites with machine learning algorithms trained on these 'fingerprints,'" Battle said.
"We can also compare these spectra to samples in the lab to begin estimating what materials are used on the spacecraft."
David Cantillo, another Lunar and Planetary Laboratory graduate student working with Reddy, is building a telescope in Australia, where he plans to expand the atlas by studying space objects in GEO that aren't visible from the United States.
"The next step is to combine the power of machine learning with this incredible dataset for fast and credible identification of satellites," Furfaro said.
"We are working towards the goal where we can operationally deploy this tool for a wide range of space applications."
https://news.arizona.edu/news/new-spectral-fingerprint-atlas-satellites-aims-improve-space-security
https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/g4_wCl8WJltooQPB7HGfNHzTYyV?domain=iopscience.iop.org
New 'spectral fingerprint' atlas of satellites aims to improve space security
November 12, 2024
University of Arizona researchers have created the first astronomical equivalent of a fingerprint database for satellites, a critical first step toward easily identifying human-made objects in the increasingly crowded geostationary orbit.
This database, or spectral atlas, includes 96 satellites in the geostationary orbit, or GEO – home to satellites used for communications, imaging, navigation and other purposes – that are visible from Tucson.
Adam Battle, a Ph.D. candidate in the U of A Lunar and Planetary Laboratory supported by the Space4 Center, led the research, which was published Tuesday in The Planetary Science Journal.
"Satellites look like tiny dots in the sky, even through most telescopes. For decades, humans have launched tens of thousands of objects into space with no mechanism for identifying them easily," Battle said.
"This is the first time this sort of systematic, big atlas of spectral data has been collected for these objects. It gives us a baseline for differentiating space objects, for knowing where everything is and what has changed and keeping that space safe."
The United States Space Surveillance Network, part of the U.S. Space Command, tracks more than 45,000 artificial objects in Earth's orbit, including about 350 active payloads in GEO.
The GEO belt is a unique orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth's equator. Satellites in GEO orbit at the same rate and direction as Earth; from the ground, they appear to stand still.
Only so many orbital slots are available in GEO, making them valuable to companies and nations looking to put satellites there.
The average lifespan of a satellite in GEO is about 15 to 20 years, after which they are maneuvered into a higher, "graveyard" orbit where they remain as space junk.
"The orbital space around the Earth is getting congested, and we unfortunately do not have license places for satellites to identify them easily.
This work is the first step towards making space safe, secure and sustainable," said Vishnu Reddy, director of the university's Space4 Center and a planetary science professor who co-authored the paper.
Reddy, Battle's Ph.D. advisor, initiated the project when he started at the U of A nearly a decade ago.
Other co-authors of the research include Roberto Furfaro, professor of systems and industrial engineering and Space4 deputy director, and Space4 Center software engineer Tanner Campbell.
The U of A team used the power of spectroscopy to create the atlas.
With spectroscopy, the team can measure how the sun's light interacts with materials on the satellites like metals, paint and solar panels, and how these interactions change with illumination conditions.
The results are a detailed pattern of colors for those unique conditions – a color fingerprint – that can be used to identify that specific object.
Using a telescope built by U of A students and housed on campus, Battle observed objects in GEO for 192 nights during every season between January 2020 and June 2022, except for the cloudy summer months.
A typical night's worth of observing involved imaging one object every 45 seconds for the entire night. This generated 284 separate datasets and about 190,000 spectra.
As part of his study, Battle focused on repeated observations of five satellite bus types – the central structure to which communications arrays, thrusters and solar panels are mounted – to determine how their spectra varied over nights and seasons and how they differed from the spectra of natural objects.
The resulting atlas contains the unique detailed patterns of colors for 96 individual satellites observed in GEO from Tucson.
"Historically, scientists have used brightness measurements, as the phase angle changes.
But using spectroscopy allows you to add another layer of information, and the ultimate goal is to be able to uniquely identify different satellites with machine learning algorithms trained on these 'fingerprints,'" Battle said.
"We can also compare these spectra to samples in the lab to begin estimating what materials are used on the spacecraft."
David Cantillo, another Lunar and Planetary Laboratory graduate student working with Reddy, is building a telescope in Australia, where he plans to expand the atlas by studying space objects in GEO that aren't visible from the United States.
"The next step is to combine the power of machine learning with this incredible dataset for fast and credible identification of satellites," Furfaro said.
"We are working towards the goal where we can operationally deploy this tool for a wide range of space applications."
https://news.arizona.edu/news/new-spectral-fingerprint-atlas-satellites-aims-improve-space-security
https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/g4_wCl8WJltooQPB7HGfNHzTYyV
FAA Moves to Streamline Launch Licenses for Commercial Space Firms
Nov 14, 2024 5:55 PM EST
After a record year for commercial spaceflight, the FAA is taking steps to streamline the process for licensing launches and landings.
According to FAA data, commercial space operators launched from or landed on U.S. soil 148 times during fiscal year 2024—an uptick of 30 percent year over year and 900 percent over the past decade.
The agency would like to see that cadence continue to grow and is launching an aerospace rulemaking committee (ARC) to refresh its launch licensing rules.
Officials expect the ARC to deliver a report with suggested changes to the FAA’s Part 450 regulations by late summer 2025 and will use its recommendations to plan future rules.
“The FAA is seeking to update the licensing rule to foster more clarity, flexibility, efficiency, and innovation,” said Kelvin Coleman, associate administrator for commercial space transportation at the FAA.
“Making timely licensing determinations without compromising public safety is a top priority.”
Part 450 covers all commercial space operations in the U.S. and was designed to minimize back-and-forth between the FAA and industry.
Seven companies have obtained launch or reentry licenses under the rule, among them Stratolaunch, Varda Space, and Astra Space.
SpaceX, though, dwarfs all other Part 450 license holders.
The firm accounted for 118 of the 142 launches the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation licensed in the past fiscal year, or more than 80 percent.
SpaceX and U.S. elected officials have publicly challenged the FAA for what they perceive as bureaucratic red tape that is causing unnecessary launch delays.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker defended the agency’s process to Congress during an October hearing, saying that any delays are “necessary” for safety.
The FAA on Thursday said its staff is at an all-time high of 165, up from 118 two years ago. In fiscal year 2024, it issued two new licenses, 10 renewals, and 37 modifications.
Per the agency’s own forecast, however, commercial launches and landings could approach 300 per year by fiscal year 2028.
To keep pace with commercial space technology—and help American firms keep pace with competitors abroad—the agency will begin meeting with a committee of industry and academia next month.
The ARC will analyze flight safety, system safety, means of compliance, and other topics to identify ways to accelerate the licensing process.
In the meantime, the FAA encouraged commercial launch providers to speed up things themselves by consulting with the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which it said could help them better understand the application and modification process.
https://www.flyingmag.com/modern/faa-moves-to-streamline-launch-licenses-for-commercial-space-firms/
Neural circuits reveal new insights into how we navigate space and store memories
November 14, 2024
Researchers led by the University of California, Irvine are the first to reveal how two neural circuits located in the brain's retrosplenial cortex are directly linked to spatial navigation and memory storage.
This discovery could lead to more precise medical treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders by allowing them to target pathway-specific neural circuits.
The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, identified two types of RSC pathways, connected to different parts of the brain, each with its own pattern of inputs and functions.
"By demonstrating how specific circuits in the RSC contribute to different aspects of cognition, our findings provide an anatomical foundation for future studies and offer new insights into how we learn and remember the space around us," said lead and co-corresponding author Xiangmin Xu, UC Irvine Chancellor's Professor of anatomy and neurobiology and director of the campus's Center for Neural Circuit Mapping.
"This is an important step in understanding how conditions like Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders affect particular regions of the brain, which will help to inform new approaches and treatments."
The RSC is linked to multiple regions of the brain. The team focused on two main pathways: the M2-projecting, which is connected to the secondary motor cortex, and the AD-projecting, which is connected to the anterior thalamus.
M2 neurons are involved in turning spatial thought into action, while the AD neurons are vital for remembering specific locations.
To observe these circuits in action, researchers used advanced viral tools to map and manipulate the connections separately and evaluate the effects.
They found that blocking M2-projecting neurons made it more difficult to remember where objects were located and to associate specific places with actions. Inhibiting AD-projecting neurons only diminished memory of objects' location.
"We are expanding on these results to explore additional pathways within the RSC, examining how different types of neurons impact memory and spatial orientation," Xu said. "Our goal is to build a map of the brain's 'GPS system.'
This will not only increase our knowledge of how we navigate our world and form memories of it, but also help identify specific brain cells and their pathways contributing to various disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and develop treatments that target them."
Other team members were Xiaoxiao Lin, Ali Ghafuri, Xiaojun Chen and Musab Kazmi, all current or former members of Xu's lab; and co-corresponding author Douglas A. Nitz, professor and chair of cognitive science at UC San Diego.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-11-neural-circuits-reveal-insights-space.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02819-8
Tennessee Talks with Tim Burchett: UAP hearings & Trump's Cabinet Picks
Nov 15, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8e0oyqHJ1Q
Pentagon UFO office open to meeting with whistleblowers: Director
Nov 14, 2024 / 06:33 PM CST
A new Pentagon report on unidentified anomalous phenomena, also known as UFOs, attributes most sightings worldwide to ordinary objects like birds and weather balloons, but officials say they’re still willing to sit down with members of Congress who say they’re hiding the truth.
The report comes one day after the House held a hearing into UAPs.
Interest in UFOs has soared following whistleblower reports and testimony from former government insiders that the Pentagon is operating a secret UAP retrieval program and that UAPs are connected to nonhuman intelligence.
Jon Kosloski, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), acknowledged the hearings and agreed with witness Lue Elizondo that UAPs are real and something to be taken seriously.
“I absolutely agree UAP are real,” Kosloski said. “We’ve received 1,600 cases. A large number of those are unresolved, which means we don’t know exactly what they are.”
His comments also support statements made by witness and former NASA official Michael Gold, who called for more scientific work.
“Reports of unidentified anomalous phenomenon, particularly near national security sites, must be treated seriously and investigated with scientific rigor by the U.S. government,” he said.
Though Kosloski agreed with the need to investigate UAPs, he reiterated that there is no evidence to suggest that these objects are alien or extraterrestrial in nature.
“AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology,” Kosloski said. “None of the cases resolved by AARO have pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies.”
AARO received 757 UAP reports during fiscal year 2024, with a total of 1,600 reports received by the department since it began collection.
The majority of the cases have been attributed to common objects, including balloons, birds, drones and satellites, while others lack sufficient data to be classified and may be reopened for further review.
Kosloski also noted that a geographic bias of UAP reports near military assets is being mitigated as commercial pilots have increased reports of UAPs across the U.S.
Kosloski said less than 3.5% of the cases have anomalous characteristics that could indicate breakthrough technology, again cautioning that those characteristics are not evidence of alien involvement.
“There are definitely anomalies. We have not been able to draw the link to extraterrestrials,” he said.
AARO is open to meeting with whistleblowers and lawmakers on the subject of UAPs, Kosloski said, including using a SCIF, a secure facility that is used for briefings on classified material, to allow whistleblowers and others to speak on the subject regardless of any classification or if they have signed nondisclosure agreements.
The AARO director said that the office had not connected UAPs to adversarial efforts by U.S. enemies but also noted that once a sighting was classified as a known object, it would be handed off to a partner such as an intelligence agency for any additional investigation.
Kosloski said AARO is planning to work on developing mechanisms for the public to report UAPs and to increase cooperation with foreign partners in the coming year.
In response to a push for more transparency with the American public, Kosloski said the office is committed to doing what it can to share information.
“We are committed to sharing as much information as possible — at the unclassified level — to the public of our activities and findings,” Kosloski said.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/space/ufo/ufo-office-open-meeting-whistlebloweres/