4 ms·
Shoot it with a dart that has a really long wire attached to it, then release the wire to drag in atmosphere, so the satellite is slowly pulled down?
by lambda_obrien 6y ago
Shoot it with a dart that has a really long wire attached to it, then release the wire to drag in atmosphere, so the satellite is slowly pulled down?
- CompuHacker 6y agoYou can attach a wire to an object in Earth orbit and use the magnetic field of the Earth to change that object's orbit over time, as well.
- lambda_obrien 6y agoThat's an interesting idea, I wonder if you would need a loop or a winding method to get enough counter-emf?
- morlockabove 6y agoThere are at least some proposals that use ionised particles in the earth's upper atmosphere as a conductive elements, meaning you don't need a loop as such- just a wire pointing towards the earth with a big metal ball on the end. Lorentz force means you can accelerate prograde or retrograde.
- lambda_obrien 6y agoI find it fascinating to use the natural things you have available as a motive force, and it's really cool to think all you might need is a few bits of conductor and the earth's own relatively static magnetic field to move a satellite around. I wish humans were less interested in the noisy, explosive things like engines and rockets, and more into subtlety.