With the increasing amount of plastic debris in Earth’s waters, concerns about its impact on aquatic ecosystems continue to grow. While satellites like Sentinel-2 have demonstrated the value of remote sensing, the lack of a dedicated mission limits detection to large-scale plasti
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With the increasing amount of plastic debris in Earth’s waters, concerns about its impact on aquatic ecosystems continue to grow. While satellites like Sentinel-2 have demonstrated the value of remote sensing, the lack of a dedicated mission limits detection to large-scale plastic accumulations and fails to capture their dynamic behavior. This thesis investigates the feasibility of using deployable optics in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) to improve spatial and temporal data on marine plastic. Focusing on system volume—critical to mission viability—and building on the Deployable Space Telescope under development at TU Delft, satellite volume was modeled through Monte Carlo simulations. A volume envelope as a function of orbital altitude was generated, accounting for design and environmental uncertainties. Compared to a traditional Low Earth Orbit telescope, the VLEO concept achieved an 88% reduction in volume. This significant improvement highlights VLEO’s potential for advancing Earth observation missions across various domains.
