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A New Wave Of Satellites In Orbit: Cheap And Tiny, With Short Lifespans

posted by mrpg on Friday August 10 2018, @07:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the space-drones dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

It's one of the most recognizable images in aerospace: Highly specialized workers clad in gowns, hair nets and shoe coverings crawl over a one-of-a-kind satellite the size of a school bus. The months-long process is so delicate that even workers' metal rings must be covered with a translucent tape to prevent static transfer.

Contrast that with how things are done at Planet Labs Inc. in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. Satellites no bigger than a loaf of bread are propped on work benches, tended by technicians wearing simple rubber gloves and light lab coats. Largely using commercially available tech components, they can crank out and test 25 of these pint-sized satellites in a week.

Befitting its location, the Earth-imaging company's approach is more akin to that of a tech start-up than a traditional aerospace firm. Giant satellites might cost north of $1 billion and last for a decade or more. Planet churns out satellites that cost a tiny fraction of that—how much, it won't say—with a lifespan of just two to three years.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Friday August 10 2018, @04:06PM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday August 10 2018, @04:06PM (#719958) Journal

    sharing
    verb
    use, occupy, or enjoy (something) jointly with another or others.

    Crack open a dictionary. They are sharing the same payload fairing, and the same ride.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @04:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @04:30PM (#719962)

    It is easy to fall for corporate psychological tricks. They can literally change your mind (the way you think) by choosing the words that they use to communicate with you. Normalize the use of words such as "sharing" and "like" to mean whatever they want them to mean. Eg. - What?! You don't "love" Apple? Where "love" means to buy their shit.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @06:14PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 10 2018, @06:14PM (#720012)

    Does the dictionary say that sharing means you have to pay to use the something? Seems more like rent is the word you're looking for.

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday August 10 2018, @08:01PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Friday August 10 2018, @08:01PM (#720051) Journal

      Does the dictionary say you have not to pay when you share? What about sharing the cost?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.