Space Systems Engineering Research Group

A really concerning development here for dark and quiet skies from AST SpaceMobile and their LEO Direct to Cell satellite constellation. The prototype BlueWalker3 satellite had a 65 sq metre array observed to be one of the brightest objects in the night sky. The company has now moved on to launching their first 5 x operational BlueBird satellites to begin a planned ~250 satellite constellation based on that design and they should be in orbit next month. That was enough of a concern on it's own. But now the announcement that the second generation spacecraft will be significantly larger, hosting a 223 sq metre array that may have a real potential to damage the natural sky for professional science and all of humanity. I've seen only superficial engagement from them on this issue so far (happy to hear otherwise from those more in the know?) and in fact they are informally part of a pretty toxic "TechBro" investor community where any online challenge or discussion often brings a barrage of hate in the comments and dismissal of concerns. This is part of a race to access the global cellular market through space delivered services covering remote and underserved areas directly to an ordinary smartphone. The challenge is that such a small user device has limited power and so the link burden is passed to the space segment, and to be commercially successful you need to be able to host large numbers of subscribers. There are two possible solutions. AST SpaceMobile have gone for a large antenna spacecraft at a relatively high orbit of ~740km with many individual channels available which will lead to huge bright spacecraft. SpaceX with their Starlink Gen2 constellation have instead gone for a huge number of smaller spacecraft with the direct to cell element in lower orbits of ~360km to reduce the link demands whilst still meeting coverage and capacity demands. Importantly the latter constellation follows the IAU CPS guidance on keeping orbits <600 km and although not beyond criticism, SpaceX are engaging with the issue of environmental protection through technical mitigations on-board spacecraft and other operational proceedures. Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) services promise to be one the biggest drivers for satellite constellations in coming years and early engagement with the problems they will cause is essential. As always if we just let it happen, the clean up after is much more challenging if even at all possible. Understanding the impacts of satellites on terrestrial astronomy and the natural night sky and looking for solutions that protect the environment whilst enabling this world changing technology is one of the challenges we are investigating at the The University of Manchester Space Systems Engineering Research Group. #DarkandQuietSkies #ASTSpaceMobile #Starlink https://lnkd.in/edetPq_F

📣 We're Hiring for a Research Associate in Space Mission Design The position is in the Space Systems Research Group in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Manchester. The post is for 12 months in the first instance and will involve working as part of an interdisciplinary team as part of a UKRI/EPSRC grant focused on Sustainable Space Mission design 🛰 . 👉 Responsibilities: * Supporting research activities in the Space Systems Research group in the School of Engineering focused on Sustainable Space Mission Analysis and Design * Developing technical models of environmental impacts of space missions to facilitate assessment. * Knowledge exchange with stakeholders, the interdisciplinary team and project partners. * Support the preparation and hosting of stakeholder workshops on the topic of sustainable space. Apply now to take on the exciting challenge of creating a sustainable future in space! 🌍 🚀🛰 Please share with anyone you think may be interested and don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions.

We're hiring! We're seeking a post-doctoral researcher with expertise in Quartz Crystal Microbalance sensors to join The University of Manchester team for an exciting European Space Agency - ESA funded project. The project supports our on-going work to develop technologies to enable the commercial viability of Very Low Earth Orbit missions. Closing date 8 July. Please get in touch if you're interested and share on your networks. https://lnkd.in/ecj-d9YD #vleo #satellite