3 ms·
Self-disposing satellites are a good idea, but it's not perfect. If the control unit or the engines of the satelite fail too early during the satellite's life s
by gmueckl 6y ago
Self-disposing satellites are a good idea, but it's not perfect. If the control unit or the engines of the satelite fail too early during the satellite's life span, the thing will simply stick around.
- dredmorbius 6y agoRight. And this actually is rocket surgery. There's also the problem of retaining propellants over long periods without experiencing some negative consequence (detonation, unintended firing, volatilisation, etc). But in general, minimising the special-handling cases would be an improvement.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoLong-term propellant issue could probably be solved by using a cold-gas thruster with a non-reactive propellant - basically a pressurized gas tank welded to a valve and a nozzle. It should have enough Δv to push you into a graveyard orbit, or even deorbit straight from GEO (though that's probably dangerous, and I imagine you could see spectacular fireworks from the ground, as the satellite would be hitting the atmosphere with a couple km/s more velocity than it's typical).
- dredmorbius 6y agoSolid thrusters being another possibility.