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The ISS orbits at 400km altitude and 27000km/h, while many small satellites will orbit lower - I suppose this is what makes it possible to “drop” a non-propulsi
by jiofih 6y ago
The ISS orbits at 400km altitude and 27000km/h, while many small satellites will orbit lower - I suppose this is what makes it possible to “drop” a non-propulsive satellite from the ISS like the one in the article.
As their orbit decays, they would actually need tons of fuel to accelerate and raise their orbit to reach the station, it’s totally impractical.
EDIT: not geostationary
- viklove 6y agoThat doesn't make any sense. If you want to orbit at a lower speed, you need to increase your altitude. Geostationary orbit is at 35,000+ km, while the ISS orbits at ~400 km.
- madpata 6y agoDon't you mean much higher? Like at 36MM/36,000km?
- hnuser123456 6y agoGeostationary orbits are much higher altitude to achieve lower orbit speeds. Gravity is stronger closer to the surface. But they'd still need a lot of fuel to slow down, to drop lower to the ISS' orbit, and then they'd be on an elliptical, and need even more to circularize and rendezvous. edit: I'm the third one to say this in a span of a minute, sorry.
- gpav 6y agoInstead of geostationary, I think you mean low earth orbit (LEO). There is a link to the Wikipedia article on LEO in an adjacent comment. A circular geostationary orbit is at an altitude of 22,236 miles/35,786 kilometers. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]