For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
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Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#2> You can build them faster, which means you can put new technology on quicker instead of waiting 10 years for new technology infusion on a government program
I imagine that having one cube launch every year with top equipament (or the best that the budget allows and tha fits the cube) can have better results than one big giant with older technology.
Of course, probably some tech cannot fit a small satellite, but I bet that the vast majority can. And if it can't now, it can in the following 3-5 years, before the big one is released.
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#3> You can build them faster, which means you can put new technology on quicker instead of waiting 10 years for new technology infusion on a government program I imagine that having one cube launch every year with top equipament (or the best that the budget allows and tha fits the cube) can have better results than one big giant with older technology. Of course, probably some tech cannot fit a small satellite, but I b…
A single cube sat is vastly worse. They are comparing an array of cube sat's which means they also end up very expensive due to short lifespans.
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#4My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome. Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe.
My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen...
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#5My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome . Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe. My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen..…
concern ok -- hand-wringing.. not so much.. obstruction and FUD .. you get the idea .. offhand seems like it is a crucial time to get data
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#6My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome . Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe. My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen..…
There are other attempts at disposal of dead satellites that don’t rely on a long-shot like the BFR [1]. Besides, maneuvering a big heavy spacecraft like that to match orbits with a bunch of little satellites would be tremendously wasteful in terms of fuel. A much better use would be to remove larger satellites like defunct communications satellites. These are actually a much bigger danger to orbital space as well. See this event for example [2], which generated over 2000 pieces of debris large enough to track and many more of a smaller size. Small satellites are not nearly as dangerous because when they are defunct their low mass causes them to renter faster.
(FYI I’m a PhD student in the lab that built the satellite in the article.)
[1] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...
[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#7My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome . Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe. My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen..…
Most satellites these days have a way to deorbit once they reach the end of their lifetime. I hope this applies to the cubes too.
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#8As a software developer, the thing I love about the cubesat concept is the presumably reduced iteration time. The idea of waiting for years only to find out something went wrong once the satellite is in orbit seems absurd (sorry, GOES-17).
That said, isn't the whole concept of cubesats tied to the idea that they're not in a geostationary orbit? There's something to be said for the simplicity of "point at this spot in your section of sky and receive data".
I suppose now is a good time for me to look into how to get data from a cubesat fleet.
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#9My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome . Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe. My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen..…
Cubesats at their typical altitudes have deorbit times ranging from 6 months to 20 years, with regulation (in the USA at least) mandating a deorbit within 25 years to receive a license. The fear of Kessler syndrome is much more relevant to launching large geostationary satellites that may break apart than for cubesats.
Re: For collecting weather data, tiny satellites measure up to expensive cousins
#10My big concern is that we still don't have a solution for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome . Lots and lots of small satellites brings us closer to that potential catastrophe. My big hope is that SpaceX's BFR can potentially launch and maneuver cheaply enough to take dead satellites out of orbit in a cost effective manner. Hopefully they manage to launch, and someone is willing to pay to make it happen..…
Most satellites these days have a way to deorbit once they reach the end of their lifetime. I hope this applies to the cubes too.
In LEO, that deorbit mechanism is called drag.