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Light weight satellite construction will still be a very high priority because making the structure of the satellite lighter extends its operational lifespan.
by darkpuma 8y ago
Light weight satellite construction will still be a very high priority because making the structure of the satellite lighter extends its operational lifespan.
The reason is attitude control. Reaction wheels can be used to orient the satellite, but eventually reaction wheels get saturated. At that point you need to use thrusters to cancel out the reaction wheel saturation. Those thrusters require propellant, e.g. something to push against. The greater the ratio between propellant mass and structural mass the satellite has, the longer it can remain operational before the propellant runs out and your reaction wheels finally saturate, leaving your satellite tumbling useless without attitude control.
- grey-area 8y agoThat's a good point, though can add more propellant too if you're not mass constrained. It will be interesting to see if Falcon Heavy, and more likely starship, have a significant impact on what sort of satellites are built, and the way they are built. If they do it will probably take years before we see any changes, however spacex is ideally positioned to cash in on a transition to more mass-produced satellites if that does happen.