i8CVS Domenico, I found this news article showing satellite remote sensing photos of the affected area: http://nation.time.com/2013/05/23/before-and-after-the-tornado-satellite-sho...
The key issue is that this was taken with a space asset having a sensor (imaging device) of a particular focal length and resolution that would allow such images. Not all small satellites, or cubesats, have that capability - but they can be developed and launched fairly quickly. The bigger question is, can it be done with a GEO platform, as opposed to a vastly more challenging LEO platform, in the time required for "damage" assessment or "search and .." rescue, and "search and .." recover operations, given that not all LEO spacecraft are in the correct orbit when they are required. And even if we assume a spacecraft had the ability to change orbit, which only a select few have, the coordination of that change may be impossible to arrange. ... that is, unless one were dealing with a constellation (e.g., walker) of remote sensing platforms that could be tasked with imaging from various orbital planes ... So the problem is complex, and the answer, as always, unfortunately ... is ... "it depends".
That doesn't mean future missions will don't have a way. My own research will produce affordable microthrusters for small satellites soon, which will allow limited mobility if a program manager so desires, so ask me in a few months. It would be great to hear from managers who have an idea of what thruster performance levels they require (time/duration/delta vee/mode) so we could investigate definition of common requirements, at George Washington University's Micropropulsion Lab. https://www.mpnl.seas.gwu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=category...; Questions? Ask me directly.
And Domenico, thank you again for your help in past years in modeling sat comm projects.
73 de N3RDX Samudra Washington, DC
On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 10:31 PM, Stefan Wagener wageners@gmail.com wrote:
Nice!
Point well made.
Stefan, Ve4NSA
On Thu, May 23, 2013 at 8:43 PM, JoAnne Maenpaa k9jkm@comcast.net wrote:
subject matter for a journal or symposium paper
It's a bit dated now since I wrote it in 2008 for a Symposium paper and it was reprinted in CQ VHF magazine ... I wrote a paper about satellites in EMCOM:
I still have a copy stashed at: http://home.comcast.net/~k9jkm/CQVHF_Eagle_ACP_Emcomm.pdf
This paper assumes a few things like we have an Eagle Phase IV GEO satellite. It is written to tie multiple components of a national level incident command system response up to being able to allow several incidents to communicate with a unified command at a national level. While the intrepid ham with HT and go=pack is key to local emergency response a GEO satellite wasn't what was needed to call in tornado reports within the county.
Now Clayton can really sleep better after reading this! Probably fall asleep reading it, but ahem, I digress ...
-- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm@amsat.org
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