To be launched within five years?! The Chinese will long before that have produced something similar and returned the data already.
The UK has to become a lot more active in getting this project to the launchpad.
zorobo 4 hours ago [-]
Would a satellite positioned at Earth Moon L2 be stable enough?
It would also need a relay to communicate with earth…
ericbarrett 59 minutes ago [-]
It takes a bit of stationkeeping to stay at L2; like keeping a ball at the top of a low, smooth hill - needs a nudge every now and then.
A circular Moon orbit can last years with no fuel use if you pick your inclination correctly. Look up "frozen orbits" (the Moon is lumpy)
cozzyd 6 hours ago [-]
RFSoCs seem like extreme overkill for this frequency range, though since Xiphos makes a space-grade one, it's not so unreasonable I guess.
Alas, I'm working on a competing project that I won't go into detail about :).
vincent-manis 10 hours ago [-]
s/dark side/far side/
NitpickLawyer 7 hours ago [-]
You're generally correct, but in this particular instance it does actually make sense to call it the dark side. Dark, as in "quiet" from RF interference. Just like some areas on Earth, near radio observatories, are declared "dark" (i.e. everyone tries to avoid using high RF emitting stuff in these regions, even comms satellites avoid it).
defrost 7 hours ago [-]
> even comms satellites avoid it.
If only ... Starlink is nominally "off' over the RQZ in W.Australia, but still leaking interference from not fully shielded electronics.
The UK has to become a lot more active in getting this project to the launchpad.
A circular Moon orbit can last years with no fuel use if you pick your inclination correctly. Look up "frozen orbits" (the Moon is lumpy)
Alas, I'm working on a competing project that I won't go into detail about :).
If only ... Starlink is nominally "off' over the RQZ in W.Australia, but still leaking interference from not fully shielded electronics.
Starlink Coverage holes (3 years ago) - https://old.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/ymm6rv/starlink_c...
(July 2025) Starlink satellites disrupting astronomy research in WA's Murchison, study finds - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-25/starlink-satellites-d...