3 ms·
The limit is propellant in the tank, which needs to be used for station-keeping. 5.5yr is the minimum, 10 sounds probable (stated goal), while 20-40yrs is the
by captn3m0 5y ago
The limit is propellant in the tank, which needs to be used for station-keeping.
5.5yr is the minimum, 10 sounds probable (stated goal), while 20-40yrs is the best guess with expected fuel usage.
https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/55309/james-webb-telescope-limits-to-propellant-lifetime https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/55309/james-webb-t...
- can16358p 5y agoCan't they design the tank system modularly to be replaceable? Like (also projecting how SpaceX etc are also making space cargo much cheaper) having a rocket carry payload that would replace the tank cartgridge with a new one, giving, say, another 5 years' worth of propeller. I'm pretty much 100% sure NASA knows this better than me of course, but I'd love to see the reasoning behind planning to retire such an expensive project after a (relatively) short ~10 years.
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago1) its more complex to design a re-fuelable fuel system 2) no vehicle exists/existed at design that could support a re-fuel system.