…and this was from a LEO satellite…

Posted on by John Holst

So this was just put out there:  http://www.nbcnews.com/science/hubble-telescope-finds-source-cosmic-stream-near-milky-way-6C10911426

And yup, you read that right:  the Hubble is a low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite, just like the others that Digitalglobe and RapidEye use–except the payload, the camera and telescope, points outwards.  Don’t get me wrong–if the Hubble hadn’t been that low to the Earth, the space shuttle astronauts would’ve never been able to fix that pesky telescope optical problem by accomplishing servicing mission 1, nor this problem either (to name a few).

This picture is courtesy of Hubblesite.org.Bidding Hubble Farewell (2009)

But this is a nice segue to my next post, which is:  there are a few cons for low earth orbiting satellites.  Considering the Hubble’s mission, which is primarily looking at the wide open galaxy around the Earth, why put it in such a low orbit?  The orbit is a near-circular about 347 miles above the Earth’s surface.  Wouldn’t it be better for the telescope to be further away from:  Earth’s reflection of light and Earth’s atmosphere (aerobraking) possibly getting in the way?  Especially when you consider all the cons, or the complicated infrastructure required, for LEOs.

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2 thoughts on “…and this was from a LEO satellite…”

  1. Pingback: Why space matters: Imaging satellite operations, part 6 | The Mad Spaceball

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Published by John Holst

Ill-Defined Space is written by me, John Holst. ​If you’ve ever asked the following question, “What is this commercial space industry thing?” then welcome to my world. I will never have the answer to that question, but I do offer insights based on my industry experience and observations. I’ve tried defining, decrypting, deciphering, analyzing, and then translating the endless stream of the world’s space industry activities, policies, and press releases. I’ve experienced varying degrees of success in my attempts to do so. The upshot is that if you want thoughtful, occasionally useful, observations about the world’s space industry, then you may want to read my analyses. Boring, but potentially credibility-building information follows: I have a Master’s in Commercial Enterprise in Space through the Florida Institute of Technology. I was an undergrad at the University of Washington in Seattle, graduating from there with a degree in Journalism. My analysis of the space industry has been a definitive source for national lawmakers and departments, news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, and the San Francisco Chronicle, publications like National Geographic, and National Public Radio. It’s been published in The Space Report: The Authoritative Guide to Global Space Activity from 2014-2023 (here’s a link to a 1Q19 promo copy). You can also see my work in Quilty Analytic’s series of LEO Broadband Reports. ​ I’ve worked in the United States Air Force, Missile Defense Agency, Cobham, Space Dynamics Laboratory, the Space Foundation, and Quilty Analytics. I focused on space operations in the first few and conducted space industry research and analysis with the last two.