A word to the WISE…

This article is sort of a bittersweet reminder to me because the company that let me go (due to government money concerns), Space Dynamics Laboratory, is the builder of this satellite: the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer or WISE. They want to reactivate it and use it to hunt for rogue asteroids, among other things. This is […]

Not dead yet!!

To borrow an answer for a different question: I’ve never Kepled. But the Kepler Team sounds like they aren’t going to give up on planet-hunting yet. They’re looking for a few good ideas (at least according to the article). If you have any, maybe you could help them out? http://science.time.com/2013/08/16/the-kepler-space-telescope-may-be-dead-but-its-planet-hunting-mission-continues/ Related articles Planet-hunting scope beyond repair […]

Why space matters: Imaging satellite operations, Part 5

One is a lonely number. It takes a while for one low earth orbiting (LEO) satellite’s payload (the camera) to see the entire Earth’s surface. If you want to get pictures more quickly, say the same day something like a hurricane or a forest fire is happening, you want a CONSTELLATION of satellites orbiting the […]

Pop Quiz!!: One of these things…

What’s the primary difference between this picture, courtesy Spaceflightnow.com… …and this one, from Phys.org? If it’s obvious to you, congratulations, you now have a great sense of smarminess within you. For the rest of you, there will be an answer in my next few posts.

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 […]