• Tag Archives satellite

  • Digital Archaeology: Toshiba Satellite L305

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The Toshiba L305 was a low-end laptop series sold in the 2009 timeframe. This particular one, the L305-S5919 is possible the very lowest end model. It was already obsolete when it was released and was compared to netbooks more than other laptops. While performance was comparable to netbooks of the time, it did have the advantage of a better keyboard and bigger screen.

    Specs include:

    • CPU: Celeron 585 (Merom, 64-bit, single core)
    • Chipset: Mobile Intel GL40 Express
    • Memory: 2 GB PC6400 DDR2 (supported max 4 GB)
    • Hard Drive: 160GB 5400 RPM Serial ATA
    • Optical Drive: DVD SuperMulti +/-R double layer (supporting 11 formats)
    • Display: 15.4″ TruBrite TFT LCD at 1280×800 (WXGA)
    • Graphics: Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M (128MB-830MB)
    • Coms: Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, Atheros 802.11 b/g
    • Expansion: 2 Memory Slots, ExpressCard Slot, SD/Memory Stick/MMC Slot
    • Ports: VGA, Microphone, Headphone, USB 2.0 x 3, RJ-45, RJ-11

    The Celeron 585 is essentially a Core 2 Duo with half the cache and half the cores. It runs at 2.16 GHz which was pretty fast at the time. It’s a 64-bit chip so it can run a 64-bit OS but with Windows it is probably better to stick with 32-bit Windows XP. It can also theoretically address more than 4 GB of RAM but good luck finding a laptop that actually supports that with this chip. This was among the lowest end chips of the time, consisting of only a single core and lacking even multithreading.

    For a low-end laptop the build quality really isn’t too bad. Everything is plastic and it has a very utilitarian design but the keyboard is nicer than I would expect. I would take this over a similarly priced netbook of the time any day. Despite the low-end CPU, in some ways it is better than the newer AMD E-300 series. It’s faster for single core workloads and also upgradeable though it lacks the GPU capabilities.

    Speaking of upgradeability, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the RAM is limited to a maximum of 4 GB. This is a limit of Intel’s bottom of the barrel GL40 Express chipset. The news on the CPU front is better. Theoretically, you should be able to stick in any 800 MHz bus (or below) Core 2 Duo so up to a T9500 which would give you a significant MHz bump as well as doubling your core count to two. However, the RAM limit means you probably want to stick with Linux or Windows versions below 10.

    Check out the full hardware specs as reported by hardinfo here.


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Japan’s lost black hole satellite is back online, still tumbling through space

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    In late February, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, launched its next-generation X-ray observatory. This satellite, Hitomi, was designed to be the sixth in a series X-ray satellites whose operational histories stretch back to 1979. Hitomi could measure objects an order of magnitude fainter than its predecessor. The initial February 17 launch went smoothly, but Japan announced on March 27 that communication with the satellite had failed just as it was scheduled to begin its operational cycle. Initial attempts to reestablish communication with the satellite failed, but scientists were able to make brief contact with the craft as of Wednesday, March 30.

    Hitomi (originally referred to as Astro-H pre-launch) is designed to explore how matter behaves when falling into black holes, the distribution of dark matter across galactic clusters, and to keep an eye on supernovae if and when they are detected. X-ray astronomy is one of the types of astronomy that can’t be performed on Earth, since our atmosphere absorbs X-rays before they reach the surface. Since no one has figured out a way to lift Mauna Kea into geosynchronous orbit, we have to do this kind of observation with specialized satellites, and Hitomi was meant to be a critical next-generation observatory. After the satellite went dark three days ago, it was thought to have been destroyed — except now it’s making intermittent contact with JAXA.

    x-ray_mirror

    The current thinking is that the satellite is now spinning wildly — an opinion lent credence by a video shot by astronomer Paul Maley and reported by Gizmodo. That video shows the satellite moving at fairly high speed, but with wildly irregular brightness, as though it were caught in a tumble. The irregularity in its brightness is caused by light reflecting off different areas of the observatory, possibly including its solar panels. According to Maley, the damaged [satellite] appears to undergo one full rotation every 23.5 seconds.

    Can Hitomi be saved?

    At first, it was believed that Hitomi had fragmented into multiple smaller pieces; US radar picked up five separate fragments that were believed to be the satellite. There’s no evidence that the satellite was struck by other, already existing debris. It’s theorized that a sudden gas leak from one of its cooling tanks acted as a thruster, blowing the craft off course. Alternately, it’s possible that one of Hitomi’s rocket thrusters stuck open, sending the satellite spinning.

    Full article: Japan’s lost black hole satellite is back online, still tumbling through space | ExtremeTech


    📂This entry was posted in Space 📎and tagged

  • Engineers lose control of U.S. military weather satellite

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The U.S. Air Force has been unable to send commands to the service’s newest weather satellite for nearly a month, and engineers are trying to determine if the spacecraft can be salvaged, officials said last week.

    The polar-orbiting Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19, or DMSP F19, spacecraft stopped responding to orders from the ground Feb. 11, the Air Force said in a March 3 press release.

    “At this time, it is not known what caused the anomaly or if the satellite will be recovered, and the anomaly is under investigation,” the Air Force said. “There are no other known issues with the satellite.”

    Designed for a five-year service life, DMSP F19 launched April 3, 2014, from California atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. It is the newest in the Air Force’s series of DMSP weather observatories designed to help forecasters predict storms, clouds, fog and dust storms that could inhibit global military operations.

    Satellite operators in Suitland, Maryland, are still receiving telemetry from DMSP F19 after the Feb. 11 anomaly, but it is unclear whether engineers can recover the satellite and continue its mission.

    The Air Force said the DMSP F17 satellite, launched in November 2006, has been reassigned as the primary DMSP spacecraft, taking over for the crippled DMSP F19.

    “There is no impact to the strategic weather mission, and the DMSP constellation remains able to support warfighter requirements through resilient systems and processes,” the Air Force statement said. “The constellation continues to provide weather and atmospheric data to users as it has for the past five decades.”

    Officials generated a 30-day plan to reestablish command and control capability aboard DMSP F19. It will take “some time” to determine whether the DMSP F19 satellite can recovered, the Air Force said.

    File photo of DMSP F19's launch April 3, 2014. Credit: United Launch Alliance

    A detachment from the Air Force’s 50th Operations Group stationed at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, oversees the DMSP satellites in conjunction with NOAA’s satellite operations center in Suitland.

    Made by Lockheed Martin, the DMSP satellites have not been immune to technical faults in recent years.

    DMSP F19 only partially deployed its power-generating solar array after its April 2014 launch, but officials said the glitch did not affect its mission.

    The DMSP F13 satellite launched in 1995 exploded in orbit last year, spreading debris fragments and adding to the growing space junk problem in low Earth orbit. Engineers blamed the disintegration on a battery fault, and investigators said other DMSP satellites are susceptible to the same flaw that could lead to further explosions in orbit.

    The retired NOAA 16 civilian weather satellite in polar orbit with largely the same design as the DMSP spacecraft also broke apart in space last year, shedding more debris in orbit. It is not clear whether the Lockheed Martin-built NOAA 16 satellite used the same suspect battery design as the DMSP spacecraft.

    Lockheed Martin completed construction of the DMSP satellites a decade ago, and the Air Force pulls the spacecraft from storage to launch as needed. For example, the DMSP F19 satellite was finished in 1998 and stored in a clean room at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale, California, plant before technicians readied it for liftoff in 2014.

    Engineers also added modernized components to the DMSP F19 satellite, such as upgraded star trackers and a digital gyroscope, in hopes of extending its life after launch.

    Source: Engineers lose control of U.S. military weather satellite | Spaceflight Now


    📂This entry was posted in Space 📎and tagged