VLEO - In Conversation with Mark Drinkwater
2026-08-12
“The future is bright if we have VLEO.” - Mark Drinkwater
Our Spacecraft Systems Engineer, Elias Åberg Garcia, sat down with our Technical Advisor, Dr. Mark Drinkwater, to talk about the promise and the engineering challenge of operating in Very Low Earth Orbit.
Mark knows VLEO firsthand. As Project Scientist for ESA’s GOCE mission, he helped lead one of the few missions to successfully operate in VLEO. GOCE spent close to 5 years in orbit at around 255 km, demonstrating what is possible when spacecraft are designed for this demanding environment.
Today, Mark brings that experience to NewOrbit Space, challenging and validating our engineering decisions as we move closer to launch.
In their conversation, Elias and Mark discuss what GOCE taught us, why VLEO is compelling for Earth observation, and what it takes to build spacecraft that can thrive there.
