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Yes. SpaceX intentionally launches the sats into an extremely low orbit. That way, sats that can not be controlled due to a manufacturing defect or whatever wi
by rklaehn 5y ago
Yes.
SpaceX intentionally launches the sats into an extremely low orbit. That way, sats that can not be controlled due to a manufacturing defect or whatever will immediately reenter, and pose no threat to other spacecraft.
Normal satellites are directly launched into much higher orbits, so if there is an issue they will be space debris for decades.
- samwillis 5y agoYes, I understand they are injected to a particularly low orbit. My question is, if you launched a single larger satellite into the same orbit would it be less susceptible to aerodynamic drag due to the effects of a similar geomagnetic storm?
- noitpmeder 5y agoIf by "larger" you mean larger surface area (and therefore more drag) then I'd think yes. But not necessarily "larger" in terms of mass, if only because it could still have a fairly good aerodynamic profile.
- rklaehn 5y agoWhat is relevant is the sectional density, so how many kg you have per square meter, in SI units. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectional_density https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectional_density A single larger sat would usually have a higher sectional density. But as far as I am aware, nobody else is launching into such low initial orbits, no matter the size of the sat. Usually you want to launch into an at least somewhat stable orbit so you have some time for troubleshooting in case something goes wrong.