Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO)
The LACE mission will characterise and make use of Very Low Earth Orbit, or VLEO.
VLEO is ~200-400km above the surface and currently poorly understood. As part of the LACE mission, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø researchers will investigate VLEO and design satellites uniquely adapted to this region, which will form part of the multi-layered LACE satellite network.
The advantages of VLEO include lower latency and higher image resolution. The challenges it presents are not insignificant, such as power requirements, constant drag and atmospheric variability.