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These sattelites are tiny; presumably the concern was not totally unwarranted. However, as stated in TFA, the satellites turned out to be quite trackable. Liv
by antsar 8y ago
These sattelites are tiny; presumably the concern was not totally unwarranted.
However, as stated in TFA, the satellites turned out to be quite trackable.
Live tracking: https://platform.leolabs.space/catalog/L19943 https://platform.leolabs.space/catalog/L19943
- mirashii 8y agoKeep in mind that this is live tracking by a commercial company, where the US Government is more interested in whether it can be tracked by US Government systems. JSpOC has a variety of detection hardware, but much if it is quite dated at this point. It's quite likely that the object is too small to be tracked by JSpOC who coordinates Space Situational Awareness, and so it still may have posed problems.
- antsar 8y agoWell, the article says: > the SpaceBees have shown themselves to be easily trackable by the Space Surveillance Network, as well as by LeoLabs, a California-based company that provides orbital data to commercial-satellite operators and others in an effort to prevent collisions. I'm not sure if "Space Surveillance Network" is the same thing as "Space Situational Awareness", but it does sound like the US Government is capable of tracking these things.