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This essay unpacks the politics and poetics of artificial intelligence in contemporary China by drawing on textual data from policy documents and news reports, as well as from ethnographic data collected through fieldwork in Shenzhen and Guiyang. Drawing on this empirical study, I argue that on the one hand, there is convergence between the logic of transnational capital and that of the developmentalist state at the discursive level, while on the other hand, the politics of AI unfolds unevenly at the conjuncture of state policy, political economy of digital technologies, and the actions of key stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the U.S. Space Program Contributed to Southeast Texas's economic growth, scientific development, and modernization during the late 20th century. Topics discussed include the Manned Spacecraft Center of the U.S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) in southeast Texas; Soviet Union's launch of the world's first artificial satellite into orbit during Cold war; and launch of the U.S. satellite Explorer I in 1958.

In this work, the SDR Pathfinder for Understanding Transient and Noise-level Interference in the Karoo (SPUTNIK) is presented. We describe how a low-cost radio frequency interference (RFI) monitoring system, using solely consumer-off-the-shelf (COTS) components, directly contributes to the analysis efforts of a precision 21 cm cosmology instrument. A SPUTNIK system overview is provided, as well as a generalized software-defined radio (SDR) internal calibration technique to achieve wideband, ± 1. 5 dBm-level accuracy and a measured dynamic range of ≥ 4 0 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the launch of Sputnik, artists have dreamt of putting artistic satellites into orbit. The dream came true in 2013--2014. This article compares a selection of projects by the pioneers in the 1980s and ’90s with some of the current ones developed by a new generation of artists. The article analyzes and discusses different approaches, discourses, techniques and aesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over sixty years have passed since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into Earth's orbit. In that time, humanity's presence in space has flourished as technology advanced and new actors entered the scene. Despite this progress, the regime upon which the world relies to resolve space disputes has hardly changed in the fifty years of its existence. As private enterprise floods into the final frontier, how humanity will resolve the inevitable, extraterrestrial disputes is becoming a pressing concern. The Outer Space Treaty establishes three fundamental principles of space law: (1) space is sovereignless, (2) space exploration and use must be collaborative, and (3) the use of space must benefit all humankind. Although individuals have access to a variety of forums for the resolution of space-related disputes, these forums each possess strengths and weaknesses in light of the fundamental principles of international space law. Therefore, to promote the sovereignless and cooperative resolution of outer space disputes, preserving the ability of all states to access outer space, this Note proposes that a three-pronged Global Space Organization be established to settle disputes, centralize collaboration, and ensure the sharing of research and discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the issues behind strategic arms race and its various impact. The author cites the expenditures of countries on military weapons, where most were really focused on the weapons than other spendings. He addresses on the increasing threat of nuclear devastation and commented on the actions of national decision makers for ignoring the implications of the continuous growth of military stockpiles. He also mentioned that the misinformation received by the U.S. on the status of Soviet weapons, was one of the instances in the history of the arms race while, ambiguity to an absurd state. Such misinformation includes the outgrowth of a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile, the launching of Sputnik, and the offense-defense race concerning antiballistic missiles.

The article comments on the effects of the U.S. development in terms of space exploration, to the claims of the Soviet Union that they are the world leader in space. According to the author, as the American preparations advanced toward the lunar landing, the Soviet talk of being first in all major achievements has largely ceased. He stresses that even if the Soviet Union has put great effort in the legend of their superiority in space explorations, it is hard to believe an American landing success could have quite the impact on them as did Sputnik on the U.S.

The space age launched its own breed of celebrity onto the world stage. From Sputnik onwards, exploration of outer space has endowed media cultures with many spectacular events and prominent heroes, extending the currencies of fame beyond the planet. Under the rubric of ‘space celebrity’, this article gathers those famous people, animals and technologies that have been sent as our envoys into the unknowns of space, framing their exploits as a distinctive register of our mediated public culture and its global provisions. It traces the historical emergence and unfolding of space celebrity and explores the ways in which its human and non-human protagonists shape the extra-planetary horizon of our common world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching theme of this article is not to revisit existing debates surrounding the application of jus ad bellum or jus in bello parameters to the "peculiarities" of outer space. Rather, this article examines the major treaties that regulate a States' military activities in outer space (including, for example, the Outer Space Treaty, Limited Test Ban Treaty, Liability Convention and, PPWT), alongside Charter norms, such as Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, to pinpoint the threshold of breach, violation and incremental militarization of outer space. With respect to the PPWT, it is important to note at this juncture that it remains a "proposal", and at best, lex ferenda. A natural consequence from this analysis will be to underscore the extent to which "toleration" of such violations by States, and the international community as a whole, has resulted in the incremental militarization of space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the discoveries of radiation belts in planet Earth. Topics include the biological experiments of Sergei Vernov of Moscow State University and colleagues on the use of Sputnik 2 Spacecraft for measuring the space radiation, the launched of the Sputnik 3 by Soviet scientists to study the nature of particles in the magnetic field of the planet, and the launched of the Van Allen Probes dual-spacecraft mission from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Global Positioning System encounters many problems in urban canyons and hard environments because of obstacles that decrease the number of visible satellites in receiver view. So, integration with other satellite-based navigation systems such as Russian Global Navigation Satellite System is utilized in new receivers. Least square as the popular and usual method typically used for navigation solution associates all satellite information with the same weights. However, the satellite impacts in reliability and accuracy of the receiver outputs are different in real condition and can be weighted by intelligent factors. In this paper, an improved fuzzy-weighted least square method is proposed which weights the satellite based on the satellite effect on dilution of precision, elevation angle and a defined constellation factor. Experimental results show that the proposed method can calculate 2D position more reliable and accurate than other popular weighted least square methods. This improvement is more than 57.23 % in a defined figure of merit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of being instructed to observe the functioning of Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 as it passes over Santiago de Cuba on January 3, 1958, having his roof used by his students to watch Sputnik 2, and the police visiting them.

During the early Cold War, outer space became a politically contested space, and changes in its spatial perception were related to political and ideological controversies. The article highlights the specific relevance of Euclidean geometry in representations of outer space. Focusing on illustrations and expositions in both postwar German States, it argues that shifts within the spatial imagination and representation of space corresponded with the first satellite missions and condensed debates about the future of technology and the moral legacies of the Second World War. In October 1957, Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth and a Soviet construction, urged engineers, scientists, and illustrators to find new ways of depicting and communicating the spaces of outer space to the public and to each other. For decades, space fiction had implicitly stifled theories on the relativity of space and time by hinting at traditional motifs of conquest through machines. Early spaceflight, however, was not about immediate flights to other planets, but about the orbit, a space without a traditional place, yet imagined as being of paramount importance for strategic superiority. Driven by political tensions and drawing on representations established in physics and astronomy, the first satellite projects were designed and explained as missions to places that needed to be defined and controlled because they were strange and new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the data on the physical and mechanical properties of the lunar soil that were acquired in the direct investigations on the lunar surface carried out in the manned and automatic missions and in the laboratory examination of the lunar samples returned to the Earth. In justice to the American manned program Apollo, we show that a large volume of the data on the properties of the lunar soil was also obtained in the Soviet automatic program Lunokhod and with the automatic space stations Luna-16, -20, and -24 that returned the lunar soil samples to the Earth. We consider all of the main physical and mechanical properties of the lunar soil, such as the granulometric composition, density and porosity, cohesion and adhesion, angle of internal friction, shear strength of loose soil, deformation characteristics (the deformation modulus and Poisson ratio), compressibility, and the bearing capacity, and show the change of some properties versus the depth. In most cases, the analytical dependence of the main parameters is presented, which is required in developing reliable engineering models of the lunar soil. The main physical and mechanical properties are listed in the summarizing table, and the currently available models and simulants of the lunar soil are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of Alexandre Ananoff's death. Born in 1910 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Russian–French space expert and enthusiast Alexandre Ananoff is known for being the organiser of the first International Astronautical Congress at La Sorbonne University, Paris, in September–October 1950, as well as being the author of the famous book L’Astronautique (1950) and for advising fellow author Hergé for his book adventures of Tintin on the Moon. The purpose of our paper is to present his complete works promoting space, from his first public presentations after discovering the works of Tsiolkovsky in the late 20s to his analysis of the first Sputnik launch in the popular French magazine Paris Match in 1957. A. Ananoff was a real ambassador for astronautics and a pioneer in space education for the general public—probably the first one in France. He built a unique collection of books and novels about space travel (donated before his death to the French Air and Space Museum of Paris-Le Bourget), wrote dozens of articles, gave numerous lectures and corresponded with most of the space pioneers around the world. However, he was criticised for being an autodidact and was very disappointed by the lack of consideration accorded him within his own country. During the 60s, he progressively stopped his space activities to turn his attention to becoming a specialist of 18th century French painters. He published his Memoirs of an Astronaut in 1978 and gave his last lecture at IAC in September 1979. He died in Paris on 25 December 1992, aged 82. His last wish was that his ashes could be sent on the Moon, an end accomplishment for all his efforts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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The innovation continuum, from identification and development of tal-ented and creative individuals through the education system, to a STEM career, and then to major scientific breakthroughs or to the creation of a novel produce, is both vast and complex... We have chosen to focus on the human capital component, especially early in the education system, where we feel much of our domestic talent goes unrecognized and undeveloped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of controversial military-funded applied research laboratories in higher education institutions during the Cold War period, focusing on the relationship between applied research and industry competition in terms of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Labs. The author discusses the Lincoln Labs' origins in MIT's Radiation Laboratory (Rad Lab) and special attention is paid to attempts to develop the Whirlwind digital computer and SAGE air defense system at MIT using funding from the U.S. Air Force. MIT's recruitment of faculty for their air defense lab is described and internal disagreement over the purpose of the lab within MIT is noted. The role of Soviet satellite Sputnik on the lab is highlighted.

The first universal exhibition of the post-Second World War era and a major battleground in the ‘cultural Cold War’, the 1958 Brussels Exposition served as an appropriate venue for the display of Sputniks I and II. As the centerpiece of the enormous Soviet pavilion, the Sputnik replicas enabled the USSR to bask in the reflective glow of its scientific and technological achievement before an international audience of 40 million. Based on archival sources (from Brussels and Moscow) as well as contemporary published material, this article employs a modified version of Stuart Hall's reception theory to analyze Soviet authorities' production (or ‘encoding/writing’) of the exhibit and its appropriation (‘decoding/reading’) by radically different publics – non-Soviet visitors and Soviet readers back home. It argues that the producers exercised only tenuous control over the meaning of Sputnik. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is dedicated to the 100th birthday anniversary of academician S. N. Vemov. Academician Sergei Vernov (1910-1982), an outstanding Russian space physicist, was the first national scientist who initiated the cosmic ray programme and radiation studies onboard the first Soviet artilicial satellites. He initiated the holding of All-Union conferences, seminars and winter schools on space physics and wits tile chairman of these events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An international effort dedicated to the science exploration of Jupiter system planned by ESA and NASA in the beginning of the next decade includes in-depth science investigation of Europa. In parallel to EJSM (Europa-Jupiter System Mission) Russia plans a Laplace-Europa Lander mission, which will include another orbiter and the surface element: Europa Lander. In-situ methods on the lander provide the only direct way to assess environmental conditions, and to perform the search for signatures of life. A critical advantage of such in situ analysis is the possibility to enhance concentration and detection limits and to provide ground truth for orbital measurements. The science mission of the lander is biological, geophysical, chemical, and environmental characterizations of the Europa surface. This review is dedicated to methods and strategies of geophysical and environmental measurements to be performed at the surface of Europa, and their significance for the biological assessment, basing on the concept of a relatively large softly landed module, allowing to probe a shallow subsurface. Many of the discussed methods were presented on the workshop “Europa Lander: Science Goals and Experiments” held in Moscow in February 2009. Methods and instruments are grouped into geophysical package, means of access to the subsurface, methods of chemical and structural characterization, and methods to assess physical conditions on the surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: From 2007 the Russian Academy of Sciences and Roscosmos consider to develop a Europa surface element, in coordination with the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) international project planned to study the Jupiter system. The main scientific objectives of the Europa Lander are to search for the signatures of possible present and extinct life, in situ studies of the Europa internal structure, the surface and the environment. The mission includes the lander, and the relay orbiter, to be launched by Proton and carried to Jupiter with electric propulsion. The mass of scientific instruments on the lander is ∼50kg, and its planned lifetime is 60days. A dedicated international Europa Lander Workshop (ELW) was held in Moscow in February 2009. Following the ELW materials and few recent developments, the paper describes the planned mission, including the science goals, technical design of the mission elements, the ballistic scheme, and the synergy between the Europa Lander and the EJSM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Charged particle fluxes on the trajectory of future Russian space research mission to Jupiter and its satellite Europa are investigated. The existing experimental data and models of Jupiter’s main magnetic field and radiation belts are summarized. Preliminary results of computations of energetic particle fluxes and radiation doses for each stage of the flight are given. Special attention is paid to estimation of radiation conditions in Europa’s orbit and on its surface; influence of the satellite on spatial distribution of the fluxes of charged particles of various energies is studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article focuses on the law and technology interface in relation with legal scholarship. It discusses law and technology enterprise and its several elements including complex technology, insufficient existing law, and call for new law. It cites the legal scholarship after the launch of Sputnik I satellite by the Soviet Union on October 1957 and the birth of first in vitro fertilization (IVF) child named Louise Brown on July 25, 1978 that provide an articulation of the elements of the law and technology enterprise. It talks on the outlining of process for creating space laws. It also explains the difference between IVF and law scholarship in which Louise Brown was registered in domestic law while Sputnik in international law.

In 2009, in five Russian observatories photometric observations of Jupiter's Galilean satellites during their mutual occultations and eclipses were carried out. Based on these observations, an original method was used to ascertain astrometric results such as the difference between the coordinates of pairs of satellites. Fifty-three phenomena were successfully observed. A total of 94 light curves of satellites were measured. The error in the coordinates of satellites due to random errors in photometry, calculated on all data obtained, was 0.041″ in right ascension and 0.046″ in declination. The discrepancies between the theory and observations in these coordinates was found to be 0.060″ and 0.057″, respectively. The results were uploaded to the common database for all observations of natural satellites of planets at the Natural Satellites Data Center (NSDC), which is available online at . For the first time in the practice of photometric observations of satellites in epochs of mutual occultations and eclipses a new method of observation was tested, which eliminates from astrometric results the major systematic errors caused by an inaccurate account of the background level. The tests were conducted in the Terskol Observatory and the observatory of the Crimean laboratory of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of the Moscow State University. The application of the new method showed that the elimination of the background level at these observatories was carried out correctly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The STEP-F satellite telescope for measuring electrons and protons of the Photon scientific equipment is described. Its design features are given. The device detects electrons, protons, and α-particles in the energy range 0.18-2.3, 7.4-55.2, and 298-160.0 MeV, respectively. Geometric factors vary in the range of 12.4-21.7 cm sr, depending on the energy of the particles. In addition, there are three channels of mixed recording of particles of different types and channels of recording of the secondary electromagnetic radiation generated in the construction materials of the device and spacecraft. Methods and results of the computer simulation of the passage of the particle through detector materials are presented, along with configuration, calibration measurements, and tests (both standalone and integrated) within the complex of scientific instrumentation and spacecraft. Updated data on geometric factors of the device and energy ranges of the direct detection of charged high-energy particles and of channels of mixed recording of several types of particles are given. Special software is described for the rapid analysis of the processed data of the STEP-F telescope, and the visualization of time variations of particle fluxes with different time resolution in some periods of high solar activity and in its absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals and construction details of a new design Polish-led X-ray spectrophotometer are described. The instrument is aimed to observe emission from entire solar corona and is placed as a separate block within the Russian TESIS X- and EUV complex aboard the CORONAS-PHOTON solar orbiting observatory. SphinX uses silicon PIN diode detectors for high time resolution measurements of the solar spectra in the range 0.8-15 keV. Its spectral resolution allows for discerning more than hundred separate energy bands in this range. The instrument dynamic range extends two orders of magnitude below and above these representative for GOES. The relative and absolute accuracy of spectral measurements is expected to be better than few percent, as follows from extensive ground laboratory calibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]