4 ms·
At one point they planned on using ion thrusters to try and keep the ISS in a stable orbit. I wonder how many it would take to push it into a graveyard orbit?
by ortusdux 2y ago
At one point they planned on using ion thrusters to try and keep the ISS in a stable orbit. I wonder how many it would take to push it into a graveyard orbit? Most of the energy for ion thrusters comes from solar, which the ISS has plenty of.
- perihelions 2y ago- "Most of the energy for ion thrusters comes from solar, which the ISS has plenty of." The ISS rather has very low power relative to its mass. About 1/50th the power/mass ratio of the Dawn probe, for instance. This approach would take multiple decades, with the ISS as it currently is. It's worth remarking there's never been a spacecraft to date that's attempted a solar-electric spiral out starting from low Earth orbit. (The Boeing 702 satellites can spiral from GTO to GEO at least—though those have, again, far higher power/mass ratios than the ISS).