4 ms·

wait a second. can I launch my own satellite into outer space?

• ChuckMcM 8y ago
  Absolutely, it just costs money.
• toomanybeersies 8y ago
  For the low price of only $80,000, you can launch your own 1U cubesat with Rocket Lab [1]. For that price, you can launch a 10x10x10cm satellite, with a maximum weight of 1.3 kg, into a 500 km sun synchronous orbit. [1] https://www.rocketlabusa.com/book-my-launch/ https://www.rocketlabusa.com/book-my-launch/
  • matte_black 8y ago
    How long would a satellite like that last before being destroyed?
    • mlindner 8y ago
      Depends on the orbit it's in. If it's high enough, it will last long past your death. Whether it keeps working that long, probably not. Radiation damage accumulates reasonably rapidly and most cubesats don't live more than a few years, if that.
    • ridgeguy 8y ago
      Well, it's complicated, but maybe 25 years. Here's a reference that's totally on point: http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~bklofas/Presentations/DevelopersWorkshop2011/8_Leveque_Orbital_Decay.pdf http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~bklofas/Presentations/Developer... "An Evaluation of CubeSat Orbital Decay" - everything you wanted to know (and more!) about the topic.