Such detailed, small-scale measurements of a three-dimensional region of space would be impossible without satellites flying in formation.

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Thus, private forecasters can stock up on free American data and resell it to other markets without investing in costly satellites or supercomputers.

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Unlike conventional rockets that blast off from a pad, air-launched systems similar to the one Mr. Allen wants to put together are designed to deliver a broad range of satellites to space without the constraints of weather or optimal times and locations to try to reach specific orbits.

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Provisioning more bandwidth from the satellites is not the answer without also considering land-based services and on-ship clouds for caching of data.

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This scheme could be used to boost satellites from low orbits to higher ones without using any fuel.

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Honeywell began the MRAM effort in 1984 at the urging of the Department of Defense, which needed memory for satellites and long-range missiles that could withstand radiation in space without the addition of heavy shielding.

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Second, to accomplish a growing array of missions without increasing budget outlays, the Department of Defense decided to load up next-generation satellites with an excessive number of performance requirements, making them exceedingly complex.

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