NoFlyZone.org Puts a Drone Geofence Around Your Home

As reported by Geek.com: The sky is increasingly filled with drone aircraft, but what about your personal airspace? Are you doomed to have remote controlled flying machines buzzing around above your house all day, watching your every move? NoFlyZone.org aims to provide an alternative by creating a database of places drones ought not to venture.

You can add your home to the database in just a few minutes. Go to the website and input your address along with your contact info. NoFlyZone.org will send you a confirmation email with a link to complete the registration of your own personal no-fly zone.

The operators of NoFlyZone.org seem to be mindful of the privacy-conscious people who will be taking advantage of the service. All you need to enter is the publicly available address and an email (it can even be a throwaway). However, that will also make it rather easy for someone else to register your address.

So what happens when you sign up? Ideally, drone aircraft will refuse to enter areas that have been geo-fenced as no-fly zones in the NoFlyZone.org database. This requires that the makers of drones sign on to support the NoFlyZone.org platform, though. These companies would need to include a setting in the firmware that prevents the drones from impinging on any no-fly zones.

Any drone that lacks GPS or simply doesn’t support NoFlyZone.org would still be able to zip through these areas without trouble.

NoFlyZone.org will only succeed if drone makers get on-board with it. So far HEXO+, Yuneec, and a few others have decided to honor the geo-fences deployed by NoFlyZone.org, but big players like Parrot and JDI haven’t made any moves yet. It’s not going to be an easy problem to solve, even if companies want to play nice with privacy. For example, how can a drone gracefully alert you to a no-fly zone? Should it stop dead no matter what it’s doing? JDI recently tried to update its drones to avoid parts of Washington DC, but bugs resulted in a rollback.

You can sign up for NoFlyZone.org now, even though the skies are not yet teeming with drones. Maybe it’ll catch on.

Starting this Week, Wireless Carriers Must Unlock Your Phone

As reported by C/NET: The days of carriers locking down devices to keep customers in place are officially dead.

Starting now, all US carriers must comply with requests from postpaid and prepaid customers to unlock their devices, as long as certain parameters are met. The industry group CTIA had committed last year to have all wireless carriers adhering to the regulation by February 11, 2015.

The move follows from President Obama last year signing into law the "Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act," which overruled a controversial 2012 decision by the Library of Congress.

The debate over phone unlocking has come a long way in just a few short years. Unlocking a phone allows owners to put the device on whatever carrier network they choose. For years, carriers have locked down devices, allowing them only to connect to their own networks. The move was designed to keep customers close and not see them stray to other carriers.

"We are pleased the FCC acknowledged the participating wireless carriers met the deadlines to unlock their customers' devices per the Consumer Code for Wireless Service," said Scott Bergmann, the CTIA's vice president for regulatory affairs, in a statement. "We also remind consumers that an unlocked device does not necessarily mean an interoperable one since different carriers use different technologies and spectrum bands."

For customers, the inability to unlock handsets had been a nuisance. Many consumers, seeking better network coverage or data plan pricing, have wanted to be able to move to a different network without having to buy a new device. An unlocked handset would allow that interchange between, say, AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Locked devices force customers to stick with their carrier networks and if they decide to switch, to buy a new device on the other carrier.

In 2013, the issue of unlocking hitting a tipping point when the Library of Congress held that the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) banned American consumers from unlocking their devices without the consent of their carriers. Critics took issue with the ruling, which actually came down in 2012 but went into effect in 2013. Then in August 2014 came the "Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act," which effectively made unlocking legal again.

Under the CTIA's Consumer Code for Wireless Service that went into effect Wednesday, carriers will have no choice but to remove locks on devices owned by both postpaid and prepaid wireless users.

On the postpaid side, carriers must unlock devices after a customer in good standing has fulfilled "postpaid service contract, device financing plan, or payment of applicable early termination fee." In other words, those subscribers who get smartphones for less by paying a subsidy at the beginning and paying in full over the life of a contract, must have satisfied that payment covenant before they can be allowed to unlock their device.

On the prepaid side, things are bit simpler: carriers must, upon request, unlock a handset "no later than one year after initial activation."

All unlocking, regardless of the type of customer, must be completed within two days of a request, and carriers are now required to inform consumers of their policies.

"Carriers that lock devices will clearly notify customers that their devices are eligible for unlocking at the time when their devices are eligible for unlocking or automatically unlock devices remotely when devices are eligible for unlocking, without additional fee," the code reads. "Carriers reserve the right to charge non-customers/non-former-customers with a reasonable fee for unlocking requests. Notice to prepaid customers may occur at point of sale, at the time of eligibility, or through a clear and concise statement of policy on the carrier's website."

SpaceX and Air Force Make Deal for Rocket Landing Pads

As reported by NBC News: SpaceX will take over a mothballed rocket launch site in Florida to develop landing pads for its Falcon family of rockets, the U.S. Air Force said Tuesday. A draft environmental assessment showed that the California-based company plans to build the pads at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 13, which was used for 51 Atlas and Agena rockets between 1958 and 1978. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The assessment was prepared for the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial space launches and landings in the United States, "This is a classic combination of a highly successful launch past morphing into an equally promising future," Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, commander of the Air Force's 45th Space Wing, said in a statement.

SpaceX currently flies its Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40, and the company is in the process of taking over Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, located just north of the Air Force facility. It also has a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and last month signed a similar deal to take over a second site there for a Falcon Heavy landing pad. 

        

SpaceX Launches DSCOVR Satellite from Cape Canaveral

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Wednesday into a clear sky colored by a setting sun, sending a satellite into space to monitor solar storms that can wreak havoc on Earth's power and communication systems.

The 6:03 p.m. launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station came on SpaceX's third try this week, and this time Florida provided a postcard-quality environment for launch. As the rocket rose, the sunset transformed the horizon backdrop into a stripe of rainbow pastels, from pink through blue, for it to pass through.

"The Falcon takes flight, propelling the Deep Space Climate Observatory on a million-mile journey to protect our planet Earth," declared NASA commentator Michael Curie.

However, out to sea, the weather did not cooperate. Because of heavy seas in the Atlantic Ocean, SpaceX canceled its plan to try to land the used first stage of the rocket on an unmanned barge and instead soft-landed it in the water, just a dozen yards from its target.

A little more than a half-hour after launch, the rocket carried the DSCOVR satellite to its first parking point about 125 miles into space.

"Everything has gone just as planned," Currie said after the satellite reached its orbit.

During nearly four months, NASA intends to slowly move the satellite much farther, eventually reaching a spot almost a million miles from Earth, or roughly four times the distance to the moon.

At that point, the gravitational forces of the sun and Earth are in equilibrium, allowing the satellite to follow the Earth around the sun while keeping a constant watch on both the sun and the Earth's sunny side.

There, the refrigerator-sized satellite will give NASA, the Air Force and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data about events such as geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind. The goal is to give scientists more detailed understanding to provide regional warnings about how the storms might affect power and communication systems.

The satellite was first built for a previous mission and repurposed by NOAA. Initially built in 1998, it was intended to observe Earth only, in a program proposed by then-Vice President Al Gore to monitor global warming.

The original program was scrapped by President George W. Bush. A few years ago NOAA convinced NASA to bring the satellite out of storage and reconfigured it as a solar-storm monitor.

Nonetheless, it retains its ability to monitor Earth's climate, detailing ozone and aerosol amounts, cloud height, vegetation and ultraviolet reflection by the atmosphere.

Gore, who attended the launch, sent a note to NASA after the satellite was deployed, saying it will "further our understanding of Earth and enable citizens and scientists alike to better understand the reality of climate crisis and envision its solutions."

DSCOVR will be replacing a NOAA satellite in roughly the same spot in space called the Advanced Composition Explorer, which was prone to signal disruptions from the very solar storms it was deployed to cover.

Consequently, the ACE satellite provides some data on major storms, but not enough, said Douglas Biesecker, NOAA DSCOVR project scientist.

"DSCOVR will not have that problem," Biesecker said. "It will be more robust."

SpaceX was unable to land its rocket, which was supposed to be an unofficial highlight for the mission. SpaceX hopes to be able to soft-land rockets to reuse them. A first attempt in January failed.

"The drone ship was designed to operate in all but the most extreme weather. We are experiencing just such weather in the Atlantic with waves reaching up to three stories in height crashing over the decks," said a news release by SpaceX.

So the company decided to bring it down in the water.

Later SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted on Twitter, "Rocket soft landed in the ocean within 10m of target & nicely vertical! High probability of good droneship landing in non-stormy weather."

He also tweeted that the drone barge would be redesigned to better handle bad weather.

SpaceX got the launch off at its last opportunity, due to the position of the moon. Wednesday's was the company's third attempt in four days.

Tuesday's launch was scrubbed because winds blew at 100 knots at an altitude of 25,000 feet pretty much all day. SpaceX didn't bother to try Monday, when it rained almost all day. On Sunday, a radar glitch scrubbed the launch with less than three minutes left in the countdown.

Smartphone Theft Drops in London and Two U.S. Cities as Anti-Theft 'Kill Switches' are Installed

As reported by Reuters: Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing "kill switches" that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday.

The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.

"We have made real progress in tackling the smartphone theft epidemic that was affecting many major cities just two years ago," said London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Johnson, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were among numerous officials arguing for new laws mandating the kill switches.

In California, where a law mandating kill switches has yet to go into effect, smartphone theft is dropping because some manufacturers have already started installing the software-based switches on the devices they sell, Gascon said.

“The wireless industry continues to roll out sophisticated new features, but preventing their own customers from being the target of a violent crime is the coolest technology they can bring to market,” Gascon said.

California's law, one of the nation's strongest, received wide support from California prosecutors and law enforcement agencies that hoped it could help reduce smartphone thefts.

According to the National Consumers League, handheld devices were stolen from 1.6 million Americans in 2012. In California, smartphone theft accounts for more than half of all crimes in San Francisco, Oakland and other cities.

Other states experiencing a rash of smartphone thefts have considered similar measures, and Minnesota passed a theft-prevention law last year.

So far, Apple, Samsung and Google have implemented kill switches on their smartphones, and Microsoft is expected to release an operating system for its Windows phones that has one this year, the three officials said in their news release.

But some of the smartphone systems require consumers to opt in, meaning not all will be protected when their phones are operating in the default mode.

Gascon, Johnson and Schneiderman called on all manufacturers to make the technology active as a default position, as Apple has done with its iPhones.    

SpaceX Celebrates Successful Dragon Splashdown

As reported by Popular Mechanics: Last night, Elon Musk tweeted this gorgeous photo of the Dragon supply ship returning after splashdown.

Update: Tuesday, 7:52 PM ET: The SpaceX Dragon supply ship successfully splashed down, completing its four-week ISS mission.

Update: Tuesday, 6:34 PM ET: The Dragon supply ship is continuing its descent — splashdown is slated for 7:45PM ET.

After SpaceX Launch Solar Storm DSCO Satellite Heads for Gravitational Sweet Spot: L1

As reported by National Geographic: The Deep Space Climate Observatory, launching later today from a SpaceX rocket, will keep an eye on Earth from a very special perch. Called a Lagrangian point, the spacecraft’s future home is part of a constellation of stable parking spots for satellites in orbit.

At one of these points, the pull of the sun and the Earth combine in just the right way to keep a satellite from being flung out of the solar system. The new satellite, also known as DSCOVR, won’t be alone at its Lagrangian point. For 30 years, space agencies have been capitalizing on the unique properties of these quirky places. (See “Spacecraft to Watch Earth and Warn of Solar Storms.”)

A spacecraft in one of these pockets needs very little fuel to stay at a constant location relative to the Earth, helping extend the life of the mission.

What’s more, satellites that stay in this sweet spot between the sun and Earth avoid the dramatic temperature swings and periodic magnetic disruptions that Earth-orbiting satellites encounter as they pass behind the planet.

Five Lagrangian points, named for mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, occur with any circular orbit, not just the Earth’s path around the sun.

The Earth and moon together create five Lagrangian points, for example. And some of the stable pockets created by Jupiter’s orbit have captured so-called Trojan asteroids.

Limited Real Estate
The DSCOVR satellite will travel a million miles, or roughly one percent of the way to the sun, to its home at the Earth-sun Lagrangian point known as L1. From there it will have unobstructed views of the sun and Earth.

If this is such a great location for a satellite, won’t it start to get crowded?

In fact, several other missions have also taken advantage of L1.

The first, launched in 1978, was the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3), which was diverted along an elaborate trajectory to allow it to make the first intercept of a comet's tail. Three decades later, a private group tried unsuccessfully to revive the dormant satellite when its complicated orbit brought it close to Earth again. (See “Zombie Spacecraft Rescue Planned by Private Group.”)

DSCOVR will be joining a few other satellites already located at L1: the Advanced Composition Explorer, which compared solar and interstellar particles; the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, which is studying the sun; and the WIND mission to study the impact of solar wind.

Stacking Satellites
So won’t the new satellite send these others hurtling into space like balls on a pool table?
Fortunately, multiple missions can play together nicely at this spot because the spacecraft don’t sit directly on L1. Instead, they move around the point in one of two types of looping orbits, known as Lissajous orbits or halo orbits.

It’s as if they become tiny moons orbiting an invisible planet circling the sun at the same pace as Earth.

Marc Kuchner, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, says it’s just like commercial airspace. “You can fly a lot of planes between Los Angeles and New York,” he said. “Just like you can stack a lot of 747s in 40,000 feet, you can also stack a lot of satellites at L1, L2, or any of these Lagrangian points.”

Mission commanders don’t avoid placing their satellites at the point itself out of pure politeness, but to keep an uncluttered line of communication.

“The problem is the sun is in the background then,” said Robert Farquhar, a retired NASA mission design specialist sometimes known as the master of getting to places, who figured out how to redirect ISEE-3 onto its comet intercept course. Solar interference can make it hard for the satellite to send data back to Earth.

The equilibrium at L1 is not completely stable, so these satellites require periodic “station keeping” adjustments to keep them orbiting correctly. Eventually they will run out of fuel and will not be able to hold their positions.

The Other Sweet Spots
Another point, L2, is also located along the straight line that passes through the Earth and the sun. It is about a million miles away on the opposite side of Earth, in the direction of our planet’s shadow.

This second point is a preferred perch for missions that need to search deep into space and whose sensitive instruments would be particularly challenged by hot and cold extremes, the magnetic field, or solar wind.

The James Webb Space Telescope, launching in 2018, will peer out from L2 with a number of infrared sensors to study the period shortly after the big bang, the formation of solar systems like our own, and other topics. (See video: “Building the Largest Space Telescope Ever.”)
Both the European Space Agency and the China National Space Administration have already placed probes at L2.

The other Lagrangian point along the Earth-sun axis is called L3, but since it sits on the far side of the sun, it’s less useful for space probes: A satellite there would never have a direct line of communication with the Earth.

The final two Lagrangian points, L4 and L5, are the most stable of the group, and are located partially ahead and partially behind the Earth along its orbit.