LARGE SPACE-BASED TELESCOPE

Let's talk about the advantages of a new approach. A better idea may be to build a giant space telescope, say 100 by 100 square miles, which would be way more sensitive than the existing James Webb telescope. It could collect Gamma, X, UV, visible, infrared, and deep infrared data simultaneously. The sensitivity would be much higher than Webb's because many antennas would work in parallel. The noise level would be considerably lower and be able to detect objects much fainter than Webb. All modules would be sent from Earth and stored in a warehouse. The warehouse would also serve as a heat shield reflecting the Sun's rays. Drones and robots would assemble everything, and no people would be involved. If some modules failed, robots would remove and replace them with new ones. Such a space telescope could be upgraded relatively quickly. Any new ideas would be implemented promptly as well. It would guarantee that such a design will not become outdated for a long time.

So, now disadvantages. The cost would be very high. Delivering up to 10,000 modules into space is necessary, if not more.

The bigger, the more likely some space particles would hit and damage antennas. So, the smaller one has some advantages.

The current space launching ideas are unreliable, prone to failure, and strongly affected by geopolitics.

It would take a long time to build and be affected by changing governments' thinking and priorities.

Of course, nobody has ever built such a structure in space, and some issues are simply unknown.

The most important question is how much it is worth knowing that the Universe is much older than 13.8 billion years — 15, 18, 20, or even older?

How would it test dark matter?

What would it do with dark energy? What kind of antenna do you need to look at dark energy? You cannot build a sensor without knowing what you want to sense.

There are many similar issues.

Other considerations. All Earth-based radio telescopes would become unnecessary, although Starlink will decommission them first. All observatories could be shut down.

Who would own it? Data could be shared between researchers working from their offices or even homes.

If many countries were involved in the project, how would tariffs affect its completion?

Communication between modules would be accomplished with either microwaves or lasers. Downlink to Earth would have to be encrypted so nobody could steal the precious data.

Could this approach handle gravitational waves? Maybe.

What do you think?

#SpaceTelescope #radiotelecope #Starlink