Personal Earth-observation satellites are assisting the earth retain tabs on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sharp-eyed spacecraft operated by Maxar Technologies and Planet have documented Russian troop actions and the injury carried out to strategic targets in Ukraine this sort of as airbases. But the destruction and attacks have not been restricted to services with armed forces significance, as photographs from Virginia-based mostly organization BlackSky clearly show.
Yesterday (Feb. 27), BlackSky posted on Twitter satellite imagery gathered above Kharkiv, the next-largest metropolis in Ukraine. The shot displays new craters from Russian shelling, which “skirt the edge of household places, triggering destruction to close by assistance and retail retailers,” BlackSky associates wrote in the Twitter submit.
Relevant: Satellite pictures reveal aspects of Russian invasion into Ukraine
And currently (Feb. 28), the firm posted on Twitter a satellite shot of an Epicentr K — a major house-improvement retailer very similar to Home Depot or Lowe’s — ablaze in the Ukrainian metropolis of Chernihiv.
The picture was taken today at 5:22 a.m. EST (1022 GMT 12:22 area time in Chernihiv). It exhibits the Epicentr K ablaze, shrouded in plumes of smoke, soon after Russian shelling rocked the space, BlackSky associates told Place.com through e mail. Scorched fields are also obvious in the shot a couple hundred meters east of the keep, they pointed out.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is to start with and foremost a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, of class. But there could also be important impacts to spaceflight and exploration down the street. Russia has previously claimed it will halt launches of Russian-constructed Soyuz rockets from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, for example.
Also, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s federal space company, recently explained that financial sanctions imposed on the country as a end result of the invasion could wipe out the Global Space Station partnership.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018 illustrated by Karl Tate), a reserve about the look for for alien lifestyle. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Stick to us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
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