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malepitt t1_jczsmwf wrote

Reply to comment by nemom in Student built satellite launched by SpaceX and powered by 48 AA batteries and a $20 microprocessor shows a low-cost way to reduce space junk by DukeOfGeek

...by equipping their craft with a drag sail, deliberately designed to speed orbital decay. [Reading- how does it work?]

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OneFutureOfMany t1_jd04fvb wrote

That has nothing to do with AA batteries.

Why spend $10k to launch a satellite who’s batteries (Energizer?) will die and leave it orbiting uselessly for 4.5 years?

But yeah a drag sail can reduce time in orbit.

I’m glad some students are getting some experience designing and launching satellites. It’ll be a major step for their careers.

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nemom t1_jczyyr9 wrote

Sure, it proves you can shorten the time something is space junk by increasing its drag, but A) the engineers already knew that and 2) that does not mean it won't be space junk for the next five years.

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mailslot t1_jd0x4qq wrote

And if it doesn’t deploy: space junk

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