Ask HN: Why Starlink satellites don't take photos of Earth?

Earth satellite photos (days old, and with daily frequency) are still too expensive for small startups.

Wouldn't have been a small extra cost for Starlink satellites to be equipped with cameras too, and have them continuously send photos to SpaceX? SpaceX could have sold subscriptions to access these at a reasonable price.

2 comments

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forgotmysn 5y ago ↗

earth satellite photos are not too expensive for start-ups. there are probably a dozen cubesat start-ups that are focused on satellite imaging. Planet Labs and Ursa Space come to mind immediately.

id imagine that starlink sats don't have cameras because that's already a saturated space.

phillipseamore 5y ago ↗

I wouldn't be surprised if early Starlink sats are equipped with cameras and/or radar imaging to get some better data on performance in certain weather conditions etc.