According to ExtremeTech, researchers are targeting Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) for a next-gen satellite frontier, with altitudes as low as 43 miles above Earth. At that height, satellites would face extreme atmospheric drag, requiring speeds up to 17,000 mph to maintain orbit, and constant temperatures of 1,500°C. Victoria Defense co-owner Sven Bilén is developing an “air-breathing microwave plasma thruster” that scoops and heats atmospheric gas for propulsion. The tech aims to enable higher-resolution Earth imagery, lower-latency internet, and unique military applications. However, significant hurdles remain, including power generation, atomic oxygen bombardment, and major concerns for Earth-based astronomy due to bright, low-flying satellites.
The Engineering Nightmare (And Opportunity)
Here’s the thing: VLEO isn’t just a slightly lower orbit. It’s a completely different beast. The atmosphere up there, while incredibly thin, is still thick enough to create massive drag at orbital speeds. So you can’t just park a normal satellite there. It would fall out of the sky in days, or even hours. That’s why Bilén’s air-breathing thruster concept is so wild. It’s basically trying to turn the biggest problem—the atmosphere—into the solution by using it as fuel. It’s a clever idea, but going from a lab prototype in a vacuum chamber to a reliable, long-duration space engine is a monumental leap.
And the heat. My god, the heat. 1,500°C is re-entry temperature. That’s not a brief event during descent; it’s the permanent operating environment. Designing a satellite chassis and shielding that can handle that constantly, without ablating away, is a materials science challenge on par with building a hypersonic vehicle. It demands a level of rugged, industrial-grade hardware that pushes the boundaries of current tech. For companies building terrestrial systems that need to withstand extreme environments, like the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, this is the kind of extreme reliability engineering they live for, but scaled to a cosmic degree.
More Than Just Tech Problems
But the technical hurdles might be the easier part to solve. The political and scientific fallout could be the real showstopper. Do countries really want hundreds, maybe thousands, of foreign satellites buzzing around at 43 miles? That’s well within what many consider national airspace. The regulatory and sovereignty fights would be a nightmare.
And for astronomers? It’s a potential catastrophe. We’re already grappling with Starlink streaks. Now imagine those streaks are brighter, larger, and moving even faster across the sky. It could completely ruin wide-field observations from ground-based telescopes. So we’re not just talking about building new satellites. We’re talking about re-negotiating orbital law and potentially sacrificing a chunk of Earth-based science. That’s a heavy price.
So Why Even Bother?
Because the payoff is tantalizing. Lower latency for internet is a huge deal for finance, gaming, and global communications. Higher resolution imagery from that altitude would be insane for weather forecasting, agriculture, and, yes, intelligence gathering. And as traditional LEO gets packed to the gills with junk and active satellites, finding a new “lane” in space becomes strategically essential.
I think we’ll see VLEO happen, but not as a free-for-all like we saw with early LEO constellations. It’ll likely be limited, expensive, and driven by national security needs first. The companies that crack the propulsion and thermal shielding will have a massive edge. Basically, it’s the next high-stakes engineering race in space. But it comes with a whole new set of earthly complications we’re just starting to realize.
