4 ms·

It didn't reenter and somehow fail to burn up. It was captured from orbit and brought back by the space shuttle. Still a very interesting analysis.

wkat4242 11mo ago
That's one capability that was lost with the space shuttle. There's nothing remaining nor planned that can bring something that size back from LEO. I feel like materials science could learn a lot more about radiation embrittlement and high energy micro impacts. The space shuttle is often regarded as a huge mistake and in many ways (reusability especially, it was more like rebuildability :) ) it was, but it was still hell of a machine.
- femto 11mo ago
  > That's one capability that was lost with the space shuttle. There's nothing remaining nor planned that can bring something that size back from LEO. Surely the X-37 could be used to bring a satellite down, even if it's not an acknowledged capability?
  - NooneAtAll3 11mo ago
    only a very tiny one at most
  - mr_toad 11mo ago
    The X-37 is tiny, it’s only 5 tonnes itself. But one of the uses is probably to bring back smaller satellites to determine how long term exposure in space has affected them.
- kjs3 11mo ago
  I feel like materials science could learn a lot more about radiation embrittlement and high energy micro impacts. They do those experiments on the ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/materials-international-space-station-experiment-x-misse-x/ https://www.nasa.gov/materials-international-space-station-e...
- ACCount37 11mo ago
  Starship might be capable, once it gets the "chomper" cargo bay. Would require custom hardware though.
  - wkat4242 11mo ago
    Yeah the cool thing about the shuttle is that it also was a mini space station. Astronauts could actually live in it for a while. Which came in handy building the ISS I'm sure. Robotics weren't what they are now so it was a lot of hand work.
gblargg 11mo ago
Even the article's author seems confused: > one of the very few satellites to have returned from its mission in space intact This makes it sounds like it was due to great luck rather than human decision. It's in fact one of the very few satellites that it was decided to have retrieved (intact) from space (at significant expense) rather than letting it deorbit and burn up on re-entry.

wkat4242 11mo ago

That's one capability that was lost with the space shuttle. There's nothing remaining nor planned that can bring something that size back from LEO. I feel like materials science could learn a lot more about radiation embrittlement and high energy micro impacts. The space shuttle is often regarded as a huge mistake and in many ways (reusability especially, it was more like rebuildability :) ) it was, but it was still hell of a machine.

femto 11mo ago
> That's one capability that was lost with the space shuttle. There's nothing remaining nor planned that can bring something that size back from LEO. Surely the X-37 could be used to bring a satellite down, even if it's not an acknowledged capability?
- NooneAtAll3 11mo ago
  only a very tiny one at most
- mr_toad 11mo ago
  The X-37 is tiny, it’s only 5 tonnes itself. But one of the uses is probably to bring back smaller satellites to determine how long term exposure in space has affected them.
kjs3 11mo ago
I feel like materials science could learn a lot more about radiation embrittlement and high energy micro impacts. They do those experiments on the ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/materials-international-space-station-experiment-x-misse-x/ https://www.nasa.gov/materials-international-space-station-e...
ACCount37 11mo ago
Starship might be capable, once it gets the "chomper" cargo bay. Would require custom hardware though.
- wkat4242 11mo ago
  Yeah the cool thing about the shuttle is that it also was a mini space station. Astronauts could actually live in it for a while. Which came in handy building the ISS I'm sure. Robotics weren't what they are now so it was a lot of hand work.

gblargg 11mo ago

Even the article's author seems confused: > one of the very few satellites to have returned from its mission in space intact This makes it sounds like it was due to great luck rather than human decision. It's in fact one of the very few satellites that it was decided to have retrieved (intact) from space (at significant expense) rather than letting it deorbit and burn up on re-entry.