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Hi there! What kind of photographic resolution of the earth’s surface is possible given the cubesat’s small size?

• Ephil012 4y ago
  Depends on the size. If you’re doing a small one (1U) you are probably just getting smartphone quality pictures. The reason why is because in my experience a lot of the electronics and stabilization hardware takes up enough space inside you can’t fit a super large camera system there. Although, I do think there have been upgrades to camera tech recently so maybe you could actually fit something with a decent zoom on earth if you’re careful with how you design it. Although, I doubt something similar in quality to a DSLR camera would be able to fit in a 1U. If you upgrade to bigger sizes you can get satellites that are high enough quality that they could see decently close up to earth. For instance, a bunch of CubeSats are able to get good enough images to monitor deforestation. Another commenter asked a variation of this deep space planets. That’s harder because it’s a much smaller target to aim for in the sky and would probably require a much better camera system. https://dragonflyaerospace.com/products/ https://dragonflyaerospace.com/products/ Here is an example of some CubeSat cameras to give you an idea of resolution.