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So it operated for a year and a half, and now it's a $50 piece of space junk?
by jonas21 4y ago
So it operated for a year and a half, and now it's a $50 piece of space junk?
- bagels 4y agoI will take this question at face value. No, it re-entered, and is not orbital junk. https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=39436#results https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=39436#results
- jonas21 4y agoAh, that's good to know. I was concerned at first because their "current location" link [1] shows an object still in orbit. But I realize now that the site defaults to showing the ISS if it can't find the object. [1] http://www.satview.org/?sat_id=39436U http://www.satview.org/?sat_id=39436U
- danielheath 4y agoLow orbits (eg Starlink) decay very quickly - if the satellites thruster failed, it would burn up due to drag within 8 years (typically satellites deliberately de-orbit via thruster at EOL). Cheap satellites almost exclusively use low orbits since they are cheaper to reach.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoA year and a half is really good for a $50 sat. Some makeshift ones only last hours, like suitsat-1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuitSat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuitSat A year and a half is amazing for off-the-shelf non-space-rated parts. Vacuum, radiation, temperature differences of hundreds of degrees all wreak havoc on electronics. A year and a half is really excellent. And like others mentioned these types of experiments are put in such low orbits that they decay quickly after their service life.