1. The proximity improves performance:
- Range^2: imaging, other sensing, closing link budgets (data you're sending or signals you're sensing)
- Range^3: SAR
- Range^4: Active sensing (lidar, radar, etc)
- Speed: Comms latency, time to intercept
- If you can build systems fast/cheap, this physics unlock creates a new paradigm for system architectures (compared to traditional cost/schedule/performance tradeoffs)
2. Diversification is important for resilience/deterrence
- Drag self cleans debris
- It's below the belts where radiation gets trapped after a nuclear detonation. Makes for not only a survivable orbit, but one with assured reconstitution
I think the main purpose, atleast in this case, is to enable very high resolution satellite imagery (whether or not that being a good thing in and of itself is another matter).
topherhaddad|1 month ago
2. Diversification is important for resilience/deterrence - Drag self cleans debris - It's below the belts where radiation gets trapped after a nuclear detonation. Makes for not only a survivable orbit, but one with assured reconstitution
VoidWhisperer|1 month ago