THE STORY
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has officially begun its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a ten-year mission to photograph the entire visible southern sky every few nights using the world's largest digital camera — a 3.2-gigapixel monster. Over the decade, Rubin will catalog billions of galaxies, stars, and solar system objects, discover thousands of potentially hazardous asteroids, and create an unprecedented time-lapse movie of the changing universe. The survey is expected to generate roughly 20 terabytes of data per night.
THE DOUGH
Rubin's asteroid discovery capabilities directly feed into planetary defense and the growing space situational awareness market. Companies providing data processing, storage, and analytics for massive astronomical datasets — as well as those developing planetary defense technologies — stand to benefit from the flood of new discovery data.
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THE POSSIBILITIES
Rubin could discover asteroids with commercially viable mineral compositions, potentially identifying targets for future asteroid mining ventures. The survey's ability to detect near-Earth objects could also identify genuine planetary threats years in advance, creating urgency for deflection mission funding.
THE HURDLES
The growing number of satellites in orbit — particularly mega-constellations — threatens to contaminate Rubin's observations with satellite streaks. Researchers have warned that if satellite numbers exceed 100,000, ground-based astronomy could become effectively impossible. Orbital's 100,000-satellite filing, if realized, would be devastating for Rubin's science mission.
WHAT TO WATCH
- First major LSST asteroid and transient discoveries
- Satellite streak mitigation effectiveness in early survey data
- Data release timeline and public access to the survey catalog
