3 ms·
You'd have to keep boosting it where it is, which means it needs extra thrusters. Otherwise it'll just decay. Also, changing orbits is expensive. Remember you
by NamTaf 12y ago
You'd have to keep boosting it where it is, which means it needs extra thrusters. Otherwise it'll just decay.
Also, changing orbits is expensive. Remember you need to change both height and angle, and the delta-V is huge.
Bringing them back down is almost certainly the easiest option.
- ansible 12y agoIf the 2nd stage at least had a small solar panel and magnetic tether, it could (slowly) change orbits into something useful. Not sure what the weight penalty for a minimally viable system would be. For the 2nd stage, every gram counts, much more so than for the 1st stage.