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Any satellite can physically navigate in space, the question is how much for how long. Everything is in orbit, navigation is a question of adjusting orbits, whi

• sandworm101 7y ago
  >> Any satellite can physically navigate in space, Not cubesats. You need some sort of an engine and an orientation mechanism. You can forgo the engine if you only want to play around with drag via orientation, but the average cube/nano sat moves, falls, along the same path as any other bit of metal up there.
  • dylan604 7y ago
    So cubesats are designed to only be in orbit for a short time? Even at LEO, without correction burns, things eventually re-enter the atmosphere. I guess it’s a feature, not a bug?
    • TeMPOraL 7y ago
      It is a feature. It ensures they don't litter orbits forever.
    • Rebelgecko 7y ago
      Many cubesats have engines, and even those that don't can use their reaction wheels to do small maneuvers by changing their orientation which causes drag to change the orbit. There are other methods to deorbit like tethers, but due to reliability they're not used often