4 ms·

Delta-v is a change in velocity, so "only a few hundred m/s of delta-v" isn't painting the entire picture. The more massive an object is, the more energy (aka f

Delta-v is a change in velocity, so "only a few hundred m/s of delta-v" isn't painting the entire picture. The more massive an object is, the more energy (aka fuel) it takes to impart a given amount of velocity change (aka delta-v) upon it. Both a small satellite and a big station module need the same "only a few hundred m/s of delta-v", but the amount of fuel needed to accomplish that maneuver will be astronomically different between them because the station module is so much more massive.

cornholio 4y ago
You can move the goalposts, but still aren't getting to "astronomical" energy, just linear with the mass. If a Dragon or Soyuz craft has fuel for 400m/s in orbit maneuvering, that's about 40m/s for a 10x more massive structure. So definitely plausible, could even happen over a large number of crew rotations. Both crafts are automated so you could hypothetically use the payload mass and volume to deliver extra fuel tanks, with plumbing to the onboard engines. So a full orbit change could happen in a few such flights.