More Satellites Than You Can Shake a Stick At
[no description provided]This video is really amazingly inspiring:
Not only does it show more satellites than I've ever seen in a single frame of video, but the rocket that took them up was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation, [link to http://isro.gov.in/ no longer works] who managed to launch not only the largest satellite constellation ever, but had room for a few more birds in the launch. It's an impressive achievement, and it (visually) crystalizes a shift in how we approach space. Also, congratulations to the team at Planet, the ability to image all of Earth’s landmass every day.
Launching a micro satellite into low Earth orbit is now accessible to hobbyists. Many readers of this blog could do it. That's astounding. Stop and think about that for a moment. Our failure to have exciting follow-on missions after Apollo can obscure the fascinating things which are happening in space, as it gets cheap and almost boring to get to low Earth orbit. The Economist has a good summary. That's not to say that there aren't things happening further out. This is the year that contestants in the Google Lunar XPrize competition must launch. Two tourists have paid a deposit to fly around the moon.
But what's happening close to the planet is where the economic changes will be most visible soon. That's not to say it's the only thing to watch, but the same engines will enable more complex and daring missions.
For more on what's happening in India around space exploration and commercialization, this is a fascinating interview with Susmita Mohanty.
Video link: ISRO PSLV-C37 onboard camera view of 104 satellites deployment