this is spire global, which makes satellites that listen to the radio waves that bounce around and off of the earth. we use data from space to improve life on earth. full stop. we're done, right? yeah. so maybe it's a bit more complicated than that. spire has a network of around 100 satellites in orbit that monitor the radio waves broadcast by things like planes and ships, along with natural radio waves that are reflected off those objects, off the sea, off the land, and that bounce through the atmosphere. and then it's up to their customers to decide what to do with that data. one of our kind of bread and butter applications is looking at how gps signals bend as they pass through our atmosphere. and by looking at how much they bend, you can calculate quite precisely down to a 10th of a degree, kelvin,

what the pressure and temperature of the air they're passing through is. it's a really important data source. so you allow your satellites to be used like as a subscription service. they're already up there. and then you say to companies, do you want them? some customers have very unique needs and very unique ideas and we help them upload those applications. so just like you would download an app to your smartphone, you can upload an app to one of your satellites. absolutely. so the same way that, you know, it was crazy 20, 30 years ago that as a company you could launch a website by uploading it to this invisible cloud. it is now becoming possible for organisations and even individuals to upload an application to outer space and operate it from there. technically, you wouldn't call that the cloud because it's above the clouds. do you have a name for it? no, not yet. we call it space services. it's very boring. yeah, it's too boring. you need something else. yeah, like the nebula, right? the cloud in space.

yeah, right. yeah, right, yeah. what i still find amazing is that as well as the normal big satellites that we've all seen being launched into space, this is also a satellite these days. it's called a cubesat, comes with pop out solar panels. and what you do is you pack these into the empty space around the big satellites in the rocket when they go up. so suddenly, you don't need to buy your own rocket to get something like this into space. now you can put whatever you want inside one of these things, but they come with some standard kit, like solar power batteries and an orientation system to make sure the things always pointing in the right direction. and that includes a little star camera, which looks for particular constellations of stars. and if they're not quite at the right angle, then it reorientate itself using a spinning wheel that's inside and also a magnet which can push against the earth's magnetic field. some satellites are used to help with climate analysis. for example, the way that radio waves bounce off the ground can tell you how moist the soil is. and the way that radio

waves bend as they travel through the atmosphere can help precisely determine the air temperature. and then there are the ships. by comparing the id signals broadcast by vessels with their actual positions as given away by radio wave reflections, it's possible to spot if fishing boats are saying one thing but doing another. so that might be somebody fishing when they're not licensed to. it might be a vessel fishing once they're licensed for one haul. and then selling that haul on the high seas, fishing again, and then coming into port and saying, here, i've only fished once. other types of activity that happens on the high seas, obviously trade being a mass of one of them. and with the war which is happening in ukraine right now, the fascinating studies that have been done using our data, showing how grain is being taken out of the ukraine and laundered, so to speak, on the high seas combined with from other sources to make it, you know,

to obfuscate the fact that it was taken from the ukraine or there's other vessel operators that have been breaking sanctions and exchanging oil with russia. and again, without this data, there would be no way to spot that that activity. and all of this has become possible because components have shrunk down and down and down and got more and more sensitive. they test the satellites, radio communication system in this anechoic chamber, which absorbs all extra sounds, radio frequencies. and also it looks like something that indiana jones might get trapped in. smaller, cheaper satellites like these have made it possible for many more organisations to use space as a service, especially when the satellites are already up there. and all you have to do is develop computer code to run on them. so what we're looking at here is what i call the satellite matrix. the satellites there, they're in the simulation. they think they're in space, but they're actually on the ground.

oh, no. yeah, i know. it's tragic. yeah, that's sad. it's great for our customers because they can test their code before their applications get uploaded and off the planet. you're not really in space. it's all a lie. take the blue pill. or is it the red one? now we all getting used to the idea of battery powered vehicles, aren't we? electric cars, electric scooters, even electric bikes. but what about battery powered trains? kind of feels like that should be possible, doesn't it? but the reality is many lines are not yet electrified, and so there are loads of railways that rely on diesel engines. but europe is now seeing its first trifold passenger trains. these can switch between diesel electrified lines and their own batteries. and paul carter has been to italy to see them being made. and, of course, he's taken a ride on one to.

paul: these might look like any other train. but they're a first for europe. these trains being built in the heart of tuscany are europe's first tri—mode trains to enter passenger service. having started running on routes in italy at the end of 2022, as well as being fitted with a pentagraph for overhead power and a standard diesel engine, they're also fitted with a battery pack power unit and can be switched between modes. these trains are being manufactured by hitachi railfor italian rail 0perator, tren italia based on hitachi rail�*s masaccio platform. the characteristic is that it can combine during the trip and change

this technology in during the live so without any sort of discontinuity and any sort of disruption. tren italia brand's their services around different music genres such as rock, pop orjazz. they've decided to brand these such trains as blues. diesel trains are still necessary and are likely to be for some time because of the wide variation in the amount of electrified lines, particularly across europe. so train manufacturers and railway operators across the world are looking at greener and more efficient ways to power their trains when external electric power isn't available. however, these trains will still rely on diesel power for large parts of some routes. the batteries only have a range of 15 kilometres at present, though they can be recharged while the train is in operation, both in diesel and electric mode.

when it's near a station, the batteries power the train completely cutting emissions and reducing noise. at other times they will use overhead power or when the line is electrified, the diesel engine. however, the batteries will still be able to power other aspects of the train than just propulsion, such as lighting and heating. so what are some of the challenges with implementing battery technology in trains? is it weight or is it power consumption? it's a combination of these two items. so our experts and our designers are continuous working on it. reduce the weight means also reduce the energy and the consumption. and it's a problem of space. it's a problem of weight. so the evolution of proposal for battery is improving this aspect. this is why in terms of weight and size, it's ok. but now it will require test and test in order before to go on the market. despite this hitachi claim, these new trains will

produce 50% less emissions than regular diesel trains. currently, we are totally focused on battery solutions. of course our research and development is working on it, but in terms of time to market, we are confident and believe that this solution will be will have a strong success in medium and short time. like cars, the direction of travel for trains is towards that of battery power. but unlike cars, trains aren't quite there yet. now, trains like this specific one are a step in the right direction, but we're still quite a few years out from having fully battery operated trains. but at least we're on the right track. that was paul. that's it for the short cut of click for this week. the full length version is waiting for you right now on iplayer. thanks for watching and we will see you soon.

hello there. after what we had on friday, it's hard to believe that thisjune could be the warmest on record. across north yorkshire, temperatures were around 16 degrees in the afternoon. some other parts of the country were colder still. we're going to find more sunshine, though, over the weekend, the start ofjuly, in this clearer slot with the thicker, lower cloud moving away, taking the rain away as well. we're going to be left with more of a north—south split this weekend with a sunnier, warmer weather in the south. the showers continuing further north. we'll have some stronger winds as well. it could be quite a cloudy start for many, but we'll see the showers in the midlands, the south—east moving away. sunnier skies developing in the south, but sunshine and showers will continue in scotland, northern ireland

and also northern england. frequent showers in the north and west of scotland where it will be quite windy and it may feel still rather chilly, but we could make 18 degrees this time in scotland and northern ireland, 23 or 2a in the south—east. so a bit warmer than it was on friday. and for the cricketers, well, there could be one or two showers left over for the start of play. otherwise, it looks like it's going to be dry with some sunshine, a little bit breezy out there, mind you. and the winds, if anything, coming all the way back from iceland and greenland. so it's never going to be particularly warm. and that low pressure sitting close to scotland will keep it windy and wet in the far north of the mainland. more showers are to come on sunday across other parts of scotland. the odd one continuing in northern ireland, northern england. but for wales, midlands, southern england it should be a dry day. plenty of sunshine here. the winds may not be quite as strong on sunday, but if anything, those temperatures could actually be a degree or so, a lower now heading into the beginning of the new week. and that low pressure heading towards scandinavia.

keep some windy weather, though, going across scotland. that weather front there continuing to feed rain into northern scotland. more showers coming in to the rest of the country. and whilst england and wales may start drying northern ireland too, we could see some showery rain moving in here from the west and that could arrive later on in the day at sw19 for the start of wimbledon, where temperatures are going to be around 21 degrees. so, not particularly warm, start to the week ahead. it's going to take a while for those temperatures to rise. they may not rise a great deal, mind you. and it's still unsettled over the week ahead with some showers or longer spells of rain, particularly in the north and the west.

live from washington. this is bbc news france braces for a fourth night of unrest, after the police killing of a teenager at a traffic stop. plus — two rulings from the us supreme court that will have a major impact on americans — including a move to block president biden�*s plan to forgive student loan debt. i know that millions of americans, millions of americans, millions of americans in this country feel disappointed and discouraged. a little bit angry. but i must admit i do too.