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Idea: gently boost it into a much higher orbit, leave it there and designate it as (one of) the first Space Heritage Site(s).

Someone 5y ago
First? Neil Armstrong’s footprints on the moon already are somewhat protected (https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/neil-armstrongs-bootprint-and-other-lunar-artifacts-are-now-protected-by-us-law https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/neil-armstrongs-bootprint...)
- Nbox9 5y ago
  Wouldn’t that be a _lunar_ heritage site, not a _space_ heritage site?
  - jasonpeacock 5y ago
    Well, the moon _is_ in space... ;)
0xFFFE 5y ago
You need to keep it fueled for it to maintain whatever orbit it gets pushed into. Orbital decay and everything.
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  If the orbit is higher it can last for thousands or millions of years
- ethbr0 5y ago
  Orbital decay comes from something. At some distance from Earth, you run out of somethings (most critically: atmosphere) decaying an orbit. So past a certain distance, orbits are effectively "forever" ones. It just takes more energy to get there, which is why the ISS is where it is.
fernandopj 5y ago
I don't think it can just be a "gentle" nudge, it is a massive body and must need a rocket-level thrust to do so, but really, I agree with the idea. Why not? Dock a custom Dragon with thrust capabilities, put in a higher, more stable orbit. Doesn't even has to be circular, just so we can visit it in the near future.
- 4gotunameagain 5y ago
  Well in theory it could even be done with the station keeping capable modules, a very gentle push indeed, it would just take time and maybe refueling..
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  Pretty sure you can ion thruster it if you are patient
- _Microft 5y ago
  If I remember correctly, a constant thrust of only 5 Newton (for comparison that’s the weight of a mass of 0.5kg on Earth) would be enough to counteract drag of the atmosphere on the ISS. That’s in the range of an electric propulsion systems like VASIMR that is under active development. Any higher thrust than that would automatically lead to orbit raising.
- iso1210 5y ago
  Progress can boost because it docks on Zvezda. Dragon doesn't, so you'd need a new docking method. There was a proposal to use a VASIMR ion engine as an experiment to boost ISS, but that proposal was dropped a few years back. Had it been kept and worked then perhaps it could have worked, but it used a lot of electricity to do so

Someone 5y ago

First? Neil Armstrong’s footprints on the moon already are somewhat protected (https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/neil-armstrongs-bootprint-and-other-lunar-artifacts-are-now-protected-by-us-law https://astronomy.com/news/2021/01/neil-armstrongs-bootprint...)

Nbox9 5y ago
Wouldn’t that be a _lunar_ heritage site, not a _space_ heritage site?
- jasonpeacock 5y ago
  Well, the moon _is_ in space... ;)

0xFFFE 5y ago

You need to keep it fueled for it to maintain whatever orbit it gets pushed into. Orbital decay and everything.

gameswithgo 5y ago
If the orbit is higher it can last for thousands or millions of years
ethbr0 5y ago
Orbital decay comes from something. At some distance from Earth, you run out of somethings (most critically: atmosphere) decaying an orbit. So past a certain distance, orbits are effectively "forever" ones. It just takes more energy to get there, which is why the ISS is where it is.

fernandopj 5y ago

I don't think it can just be a "gentle" nudge, it is a massive body and must need a rocket-level thrust to do so, but really, I agree with the idea. Why not? Dock a custom Dragon with thrust capabilities, put in a higher, more stable orbit. Doesn't even has to be circular, just so we can visit it in the near future.

4gotunameagain 5y ago
Well in theory it could even be done with the station keeping capable modules, a very gentle push indeed, it would just take time and maybe refueling..
gameswithgo 5y ago
Pretty sure you can ion thruster it if you are patient
_Microft 5y ago
If I remember correctly, a constant thrust of only 5 Newton (for comparison that’s the weight of a mass of 0.5kg on Earth) would be enough to counteract drag of the atmosphere on the ISS. That’s in the range of an electric propulsion systems like VASIMR that is under active development. Any higher thrust than that would automatically lead to orbit raising.
iso1210 5y ago
Progress can boost because it docks on Zvezda. Dragon doesn't, so you'd need a new docking method. There was a proposal to use a VASIMR ion engine as an experiment to boost ISS, but that proposal was dropped a few years back. Had it been kept and worked then perhaps it could have worked, but it used a lot of electricity to do so