Why space matters: Imaging Satellite Operations, part 4

Okay, you’re holding the orange in your hand again (I hope you haven’t been holding it all this time—it’s been a few days). Again, there’s a line drawn around the orange that is parallel to the ground. The line represents…(you should be thinking the words “the Earth’s equator”). Now, roll the coin perpendicular to the […]

Why space matters: Imaging Satellite Operations, Part 3

So, assuming you’ve been tagging along this far, now we know that a good low earth orbit (LEO) for taking pictures is around 313 miles. But there’s another question that needs asking: what’s the best LEO (aside from your dream date) for ensuring you will eventually get to take pictures of Earth’s ENTIRE surface ? This […]

Why space matters and explaining imaging satellite operations, Part 2

In Part 1 of explaining imaging satellite operations, we assumed a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite is one of the better options for getting great “Earth-selfies” with a camera on board. We also learned the range of LEOs is pretty big: 99 to 1200 miles. But we also know closer is mainly better (see previous post […]