SpaceX Falcon 9 : Spaceflight SSO-A : December 3, 2018 - DISCUSSION

[envy887]

I believe this is one of the payloads on this launch and like Humanity Star before it has annoyed astronomers.

Trevor Paglen Is About to Launch a Reflective Sculpture Into Outer Space, and Astronomers Are Really frakked Off About It

This fall, Trevor Paglen will launch a shiny sculpture into space, a reflective, nonfunctional satellite. The orbital artwork is meant to encourage viewers to reconsider their view of humanity and its place in the universe. A group of astronomers, however, has had a rather different reaction: They hate it.

Specifically, critics have claimed that the piece will cause light pollution that could interfere with important astronomical observations.

https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/astronomers-object-to-outer-space-art-trevor-paglen-1336952

I don't understand that attitude. Most astronomy funding comes from the public, so getting the public more engaged is certainly a good thing for the astronomical community. And there are already 7,000 other large objects in LEO, how does one more have any noticeable effect on observations? Whatever methods they have now for dealing with satellites should continue to work just fine.

[marsbase]

And there are already 7,000 other large objects in LEO, how does one more have any noticeable effect on observations? Whatever methods they have now for dealing with satellites should continue to work just fine.

Good grief.  If this object is no more noticeable than the other 7,000 objects, how is it going to contribute to public awareness?  On the other hand, if it is a big shiny ball that catches peoples attention, it is disruptive to astronomical observations.  What really focuses public attention on space  are the stars and planets that are visible with the naked eye.  A billboard in space is a horrible idea.

[chrisking0997]

And there are already 7,000 other large objects in LEO, how does one more have any noticeable effect on observations? Whatever methods they have now for dealing with satellites should continue to work just fine.

Good grief.  If this object is no more noticeable than the other 7,000 objects, how is it going to contribute to public awareness?  On the other hand, if it is a big shiny ball that catches peoples attention, it is disruptive to astronomical observations.  What really focuses public attention on space  are the stars and planets that are visible with the naked eye.  A billboard in space is a horrible idea.

precisely.  This continues to set a bad precedent for what is essentially pollution.  Yes, its temporary, but 10 years from now when theres Golden Arches and Mermaids floating overhead at night it wont be temporary.  You cant get people interesting in viewing nature by injecting man-made neon signs pointing to it.  We have a hard enough time trying to convince people that light pollution is bad

[whitelancer64]

Orbital Reflector is a lot bigger than the Humanity Star, and it will be brighter than most satellites, with a maximum apparent magnitude of about 2, which should be easily visible even in light-polluted areas. It's expected to orbit for about 3 months.

[Star One]

And there are already 7,000 other large objects in LEO, how does one more have any noticeable effect on observations? Whatever methods they have now for dealing with satellites should continue to work just fine.

Good grief.  If this object is no more noticeable than the other 7,000 objects, how is it going to contribute to public awareness?  On the other hand, if it is a big shiny ball that catches peoples attention, it is disruptive to astronomical observations.  What really focuses public attention on space  are the stars and planets that are visible with the naked eye.  A billboard in space is a horrible idea.

This project seems to me too be more about publicity for the artist and his backers than linking humanity with the stars.

[niwax]

Different question: If this thing is injected into SSO with a bunch of earth-observation satellites, how will someone see it at all? It's only sunlit on the half facing daylight..

[envy887]

And there are already 7,000 other large objects in LEO, how does one more have any noticeable effect on observations? Whatever methods they have now for dealing with satellites should continue to work just fine.

Good grief.  If this object is no more noticeable than the other 7,000 objects, how is it going to contribute to public awareness?  On the other hand, if it is a big shiny ball that catches peoples attention, it is disruptive to astronomical observations.  What really focuses public attention on space  are the stars and planets that are visible with the naked eye.  A billboard in space is a horrible idea.

A astronomical telescope can see (and be disrupted by) all of the thousands of large objects in Earth orbit, while a person cannot see more than a handful especially in a light-polluted area. So a bright object has disproportionately larger impact on people than it does on telescopes.

And it's not a "billboard". it's a pinprick of light. Most people have absolutely no idea that you can see satellites at all, and even how no idea what the ISS is when they see it. If this make the news and average people go outside to look at it, it's a good thing.

This project seems to me too be more about publicity for the artist and his backers than linking humanity with the stars.

I won't disagree with that.

[jpo234]

precisely.  This continues to set a bad precedent for what is essentially pollution.  Yes, its temporary, but 10 years from now when theres Golden Arches and Mermaids floating overhead at night it wont be temporary.  You cant get people interesting in viewing nature by injecting man-made neon signs pointing to it.  We have a hard enough time trying to convince people that light pollution is bad

But it gives you a good reason to ask for the things you really want: orbiting telescopes.

[A12]

precisely.  This continues to set a bad precedent for what is essentially pollution.  Yes, its temporary, but 10 years from now when theres Golden Arches and Mermaids floating overhead at night it wont be temporary.  You cant get people interesting in viewing nature by injecting man-made neon signs pointing to it.  We have a hard enough time trying to convince people that light pollution is bad

But it gives you a good reason to ask for the things you really want: orbiting telescopes.

Or, even better, on the far side of the Moon.

[gongora]

0651-EX-CN-2018 EdgeCube (1U CubeSat)

Mission Overview: EdgeCube will make a global measurement of the red
edge that monitors a sharp change in leaf reflectance in the range 600 to 800
nm from changes in vegetation chlorophyll absorption and mesophyll
scattering due to seasonal leaf phenology or stress. EdgeCube has been
specifically designed to monitor the red edge characteristics of ~200 km
areas of the earth using 9 narrow spectral bands in the wavelength range
600-800 nm. Two additional sensors will be flown: one will measure the
optical and Infrared broadband signal in order to measure the incoming solar
radiance. The incoming solar radiance is needed in order to calculate the topof-atmosphere
reflectance (at-sensor radiance/incoming solar radiance), thus
normalizing the data through the seasons and by latitude. Although
EdgeCube’s ground spatial resolution is substantially less than conventional
multispectral satellites, its design will monitor changes in the red-edge on a
global scale within the telemetry limitations of a cubesat.

The satellite will be launched as a secondary payload on a Falcon 9
scheduled for launch during October 2018. EdgeCube will be inserted into a
Sun synchronous circular orbit at 545 km. Transmission will begin ~3 hours
after launch. Atmospheric friction will slow the satellite and reduce the
altitude of the orbit, until de-orbiting occurs 3-5 years after launch. See the
Orbital Debris Assessment Report for details

[dorkmo]

perhaps on a future mission they could launch like a dozen of these and make symbol or letter in the sky

[gongora]

This conversation would be more appropriate in the core tracking threads.

[russianhalo117]

STP-2 seems like the ideal mission for the USAF to trial booster re-use and get that milestone out of the way..

already been stated in other threads that the STP-2 Boosters and core are new. Also gongora already told us to use the appropriate thread and this is no that thread.

[Lar]

Moving the corespotting posts to the corespotting thread

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=42977

[gongora]

Apparently NOAA doesn't like the frequencies Spaceflight is using for the SSO-A transmissions because they could possibly cause interference with some NOAA assets.  Spaceflight is reducing their transmissions from the Free Flyer spacecraft and may adjust the frequencies.  (Also, Spaceflight is becoming very quiet about the launch date.)

[Star One]

Another article on the space litter, I mean artwork. Though goes wider than that covering the commercialisation of spaceflight and LEO.

Space Art Is Causing a Ruckus Among Astronomers

The line between culture and clutter can be hard to trace, even hundreds of miles above Earth.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/orbital-reflector-trevor-paglen-space-art-humanity-star/568858/

[Draggendrop]

We are all entitled to an opinion about art and its placement but I feel this is making a mountain out of a gopher hill at this time.

There will come a time for a regulatory approach for these payloads but ... is it really needed now? With 7 billion people on this planet, if a few may be inspired, I am fine with that...more so than having a select group dictate what is permissible for my viewing.

As an old retired engineer, all I wish is that a few "lighten up" (pun intended) a bit and let us enjoy all facets of this exciting time in spaceflight, art included.

[gongora]

This document is a response from Spaceflight to additional questions from the FCC dealing with the deorbit sail, how long it would take to deorbit under various scenarios, and payload collision risks.  It's only 3 pages so you may want to peruse it if you're interested in that sort of thing.

A couple things from the document:
The sail material is a single layer of 7.5 µm Kapton HN manufactured by Dunmore with a 30 nm aluminum layer on both sides.
Orbital Reflector has to wait 10 hours before deploying its inflatable structure.

[gongora]

0704-EX-CN-2018
SAT-LOI-20180910-00069

Hiber has completed construction of its first two satellites in partnership with Innovative Solutions in Space B.V. (“Innovative
Solutions”), a Netherlands-based company. These two satellites are currently slated for launch in the fourth quarter of 2018, with the first scheduled for an October launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the second for a November launch by SpaceX.

[gongora]

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/suomi_100_centennial_satellite_to_be_launched_into_space_in_november/10402561

The Suomi 100 satellite, which was built to celebrate Finland’s centennial, will be launched into orbit in mid-November, according to Aalto University.

The satellite was built by the university and the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and will research space weather and auroras. It is also fitted with a camera for taking orbital imagery.