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Assuming they do the job right - “Finally, the space agency is concerned because AST has never built a satellite remotely close in size to the 1-ton or larger v
by conception 6y ago
Assuming they do the job right - “Finally, the space agency is concerned because AST has never built a satellite remotely close in size to the 1-ton or larger vehicles that will populate its constellation. Given this lack of experience, it is expected that 10 percent or more of the satellites may fail, making them unable to maneuver to avoid collisions. “
I rather not have new players testing the waters of their capabilities with a mega constellation of satellites that won’t deorbit if they fail.
- cbanek 6y agoYou nailed it on the "assuming they do the job right." The other part is that there aren't any orbital tow trucks to get rogue or broken satellites out of orbit or out of colliding paths. Plus since you never know where it might happen, and the delta-v would be pretty extreme to go very far or very fast, let alone both which would be needed to prevent a collision of an out of control satellite. The penalty of screwing up could be large, and there aren't many mitigations available.
- londons_explore 6y agoWith a 900 square meter antenna array, they'll deorbit pretty quick. I'd guess that's the reason they're at the altitude they are - at lower orbits they'd decay too quickly.