SYDNEY \u2014 An Australian company that is a leader in taking images of spacecraft in low Earth orbit is seeking to widen its aperture to monitor higher orbits, and even beyond.<\/p>\n
During an event on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress here, Will Crowe, co-founder and chief executive of HEO, highlighted the progress the company has made in what is formally known as non-Earth imaging, or using spacecraft to image other spacecraft in orbit.<\/p>\n
HEO does not operate its own satellites but instead works with several Earth imaging companies, partnering with them to access those satellites when they are not being used, such as when passing over oceans. \u201cPairing our mission with theirs is a really fantastic collaboration,\u201d he said. \u201cIt allows us to bring the lowest cost to our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
HEO has conducted 4,000 \u201cmissions,\u201d which is what the company calls a flyby by an imaging satellite with a target of interest. Those missions have imaged more than 800 spacecraft, ranging from Starlink and Project Kuiper satellites to the Chinese space station Tiangong.<\/p>\n
Advances in imaging technologies and techniques, including cameras HEO developed, have resulted in dramatic improvements in quality. Crowe showed a series of images of Tiangong starting in 2023, when the company\u2019s images showed only basic details of the station: a 5 on the company\u2019s 1-to-10 scale of image quality, he said.<\/p>\n
He contrasted that with one taken earlier this year that was far sharper, a \u201c10+\u201d quality image that had enough resolution to make out details on individual modules and the articulation of the station\u2019s robotic arm. \u201cYou can almost make out the writing on the side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The imagery has helped satellite operators diagnose problem with their spacecraft. \u201cNow we can inspect satellites in space,\u201d Crowe said. \u201cWhen you satellite fails, there is a way to see how it has failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
In one case, HEO imagery showed a satellite was tumbling, allowing the operator to detumble and recover the spacecraft, while in another, imagery showed a solar panel had not deployed. \u201cWe\u2019ve already helped a bunch of companies correct their satellites and get their missions back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company has been able to observe satellites at altitude of up to about 700 kilometers, but Crowe said HEO is working to install cameras on other satellites to enable observations of satellites at up to 1,200 kilometers. \u201cThis is where a lot of critical assets are, and there\u2019s a lot of tensions about the things being launched those altitudes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
HEO plans to aim much higher, though. Crowe announced at the event that the company is working to install cameras on spacecraft to enable observations in the geostationary belt. \u201cAll our customers have been asking us to get to GEO for a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
HEO plans to work with unnamed partners on spacecraft in \u201cmonitoring orbits\u201d a few hundred kilometers above and below GEO. That will include the capability to maneuver to inspect individual spacecraft if needed.<\/p>\n
The company plans to being service in January 2027. \u201cWe\u2019ve already had customers who have bought into this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHEO\u2019s mission is to image anything in the solar system on demand,\u201d Crowe said, and that goes beyond spacecraft in Earth orbit. The company is studying ways to use spacecraft in GEO to image asteroids that make close approaches to Earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust last year, there were four asteroids that passed close enough that a satellite in GEO or near GEO with a camera could potentially use a little bit of fuel that it would need to use anyway to get to a graveyard orbit but instead pass by an asteroid that happened to be floating past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Such imagery could be used for scientific purposes or even resource extraction, he said. HEO estimates that at least 30 asteroids more than 19 meters across will pass \u201creally close\u201d to the GEO belt and be potential targets for imaging missions. The best-known example Apophis, a large near Earth asteroid that will pass inside the GEO belt in April 2029.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an opportunity that is too good to miss,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to go past this asteroid in 2029, which we\u2019re incredibly excited about, all using a GEO satellite at the end of its life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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