The benefits of very low earth orbit for earth observation missions

Crisp, N.H.; Roberts, P.C.E.; Livadiotti, S.; Oiko, V.T.A.; Edmondson, S.; Haigh, S.J.; Huyton, C.; Sinpetru, L.A.; Smith, K.L.; Worrall, S.D.; Becedas, J.; Domínguez, R.M.; González, D.; Hanessian, V.; Mølgaard, A.; Nielsen, J.; Bisgaard, M.; Chan, Y.-A.; Fasoulas, S.; Herdrich, G.H.; Romano, F.; Traub, C.; García-Almiñana, D.; Rodríguez-Donaire, S.; Sureda, M.; Kataria, D.; Outlaw, R.; Belkouchi, B.; Conte, A.; Perez, J.S.; Villain, R.; Heißerer, B.; Schwalber, A.

doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2020.100619

The benefits of very low earth orbit for earth observation missions

Very low Earth orbits (VLEO), typically classified as orbits below approximately 450 km in altitude, have the potential to provide significant benefits to spacecraft over those that operate in higher altitude orbits. This paper provides a comprehensive review and analysis of these benefits to spa…