SwerdnaJack t1_jc7fhcd wrote on March 14, 2023 at 4:21 PM

Reply to comment by julia_fns in NASA wants new 'deorbit tug' to bring space station down in 2030 by DevilsRefugee

We could put it into a parking orbit though. I’ll start a go fund me.

maxcorrice t1_jc7m1go wrote on March 14, 2023 at 5:03 PM

It takes a lot of delta V to do it, definitely not impossible but best bet would be to keep a schedule similar to the current one but the boosts go for much longer to get it into a slightly higher orbit each time, it’ll cost less total but for longer and it’ll give us time to get better more efficient engines, or it could be used as a testbed for things like ion engines where they have low thrust but high efficiency

Northwindlowlander t1_jc9282w wrote on March 15, 2023 at 3:56 AM

Putting into a parking or graveyard orbit would be a ton of effort. But pruning it a bit to reduce drag once it's unmanned, and lifting it somewhat higher would be pretty easy. At this point, literally just a matter of cost.

SwerdnaJack t1_jcarq0i wrote on March 15, 2023 at 2:42 PM

That’s what the go fund me is for

Northwindlowlander t1_jcavf3f wrote on March 15, 2023 at 3:06 PM

What I was getting at is that parking/graveyard orbits aren't realyl practical, and people tend to react as if that makes any sort of preservation impossible, and that can obscure the fact that it doesn't need to be permanent, it just needs to be sustainable.

Anyone that knows that lifting it to a permanent orbit isn't practical, should also know what the alternatives are, but that doesn't seem to stop it... Tell you what, you book the Dragon, I'll get some jerrycans of rocket fuel