Satellites | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/satellites/RSS feed for SatellitesenFri, 02 Oct 2026 20:01:40 +0000Google Wants to Send Data Centers to Space—and Just Launched an Experimental Satellite to Test Whether Its Ambitious Plan Will Workhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/google-wants-to-send-data-centers-to-space-and-just-launched-a-satellite-to-test-whether-its-ambitious-plan-will-work-180989613/The tech giant aims to use the near-constant sunlight available in low-Earth orbit to power data centers. The experimental satellite, launched October 1, holds four computer chips that can run Google’s Gemini A.I. for 15 minutes at a timeFri, 02 Oct 2026 20:01:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/google-wants-to-send-data-centers-to-space-and-just-launched-a-satellite-to-test-whether-its-ambitious-plan-will-work-180989613/SpaceX's Giant Starship Rocket Reached Earth Orbit on Its First Try, but Engine Problems Forced It to Return to the Planet Earlyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spacexs-giant-starship-rocket-reached-earth-orbit-on-its-first-try-but-engine-problems-forced-it-to-return-to-the-planet-early-180989596/Two aerospace companies are competing to create the lunar lander NASA uses when it returns humans to the moon's surface. But to reach our lunar companion, a spacecraft will first have to get to Earth orbitWed, 30 Sep 2026 20:30:34 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/spacexs-giant-starship-rocket-reached-earth-orbit-on-its-first-try-but-engine-problems-forced-it-to-return-to-the-planet-early-180989596/Satellite Images Reveal Greenland and Antarctica Have Lost More Than 12 Trillion Tons of Ice Over the Past 50 Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/satellite-images-reveal-greenland-and-antarctica-have-lost-more-than-12-trillion-tons-of-ice-over-the-past-50-years-180989567/Most of the frozen water has vanished because glaciers have been flowing faster into the ocean, rather than because of surface melting of ice sheets, according to a new study. Researchers estimate the ice loss has raised the global sea level by more than one inchMon, 28 Sep 2026 15:36:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/satellite-images-reveal-greenland-and-antarctica-have-lost-more-than-12-trillion-tons-of-ice-over-the-past-50-years-180989567/From 22,000 Miles Up, This Satellite Tracks Airborne Health Threats Almost in Real Timehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/from-22000-miles-up-this-satellite-tracks-airborne-health-threats-almost-in-real-time-180989523/The new instrument, called TEMPO, captures hourly snapshots of the pollutants swirling in the daytime atmosphere over North America—“chemical weather” reports that are helpful to public health researchers and government officialsFri, 18 Sep 2026 18:02:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/from-22000-miles-up-this-satellite-tracks-airborne-health-threats-almost-in-real-time-180989523/