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It should also be possible to de-orbit obsolete satellites faster if they can at end-of-life deploy a "sail" that will cause more drag.
by WalterBright 2y ago
It should also be possible to de-orbit obsolete satellites faster if they can at end-of-life deploy a "sail" that will cause more drag.
- dredmorbius 2y agoEddy-current-generating tethers seem a more practical option: <https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/kantha/sites/default/files/attached-files/carpenter.pdf https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/kantha/sites/default/files/...> (A plot point in Neal Stephenson's Seveneves.)
- youngtaff 2y agoAnd then we have to consider what’s the effect of all those vapourised metals on the atmosphere
- mr_toad 2y agoProbably not much. There’s already an estimated 48 tons of material falling into the atmosphere every day. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/ https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/fac...