Primer

Volume X · 00 · The flock

Volume X · LEO

Close, fast, crowded. Latency, a flock, drag, debris.

Low Earth orbit is close, fast, and crowded. Latency is milliseconds, path loss is kinder, and you need a flock because each bird races over the horizon.

Start with why LEOSkip to the flock

In English

Low Earth orbit is where most new satellites live: minutes of pass, milliseconds of light, thin air that eventually drags you home. A constellation is how you pretend a racing bird is a tower.

Try this
Why LEO, then Flock, then Debris.
Keep this
LEO is close and crowded. You buy coverage with numbers.

The stack · click a layer

  1. 06Debris
  2. 05Pass
  3. 04Drag
  4. 03Flock
  5. 02Light
  6. 01Why LEO

What this is

A ping you can watch, a necklace of sats, drag that eats low shells, a few-minute pass, and a Kessler click.

What this is not

Not a constellation designer. Starlink-scale numbers are orders of magnitude, not a filing. Drag lifetime is a cartoon with the right shape.

  1. 01 · The betWhy LEOCompare LEO, MEO, GEO on ping and count.LEO: short light, many sats. GEO: one sat, long light.
  2. 02 · The betLightPing LEO. Ping GEO.LEO ping is terrestrial-ish. GEO ping is a satellite.
  3. 03 · CoverageFlockFill a ring. Count the fleet.Always-on LEO is a fleet, not a satellite.
  4. 04 · CoverageDragRaise altitude. Solar min, solar max.Low LEO is self-cleaning. High LEO stores junk.
  5. 05 · GroundPassAltitude versus how long it stays up.A pass is minutes. The kit that tracks is the product.
  6. 06 · GroundDebrisPick a shell. Collide. Watch the index.Collisions breed collisions. Design for demise.