If we one day find away of refuelling satellites in the orbit GEO will that be able to extend the life of the satellite to lets say 100 to 150 years?
2007-10-04 20:26:26 · 6 answers · asked by Omar 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes, but it's usually not practical to do so -- the cost of a shuttle mission is very high, but shuttle servicing of particular satellites (e.g. the Hubble telescope) has been done.
As previous posters have noted, satellites are in unstable orbits, and will fall to the earth given enough time.
Many satellites carry maneuvering thrusters to "push" themselves back into the proper orbit; how long these thrusters last can determine the effective operational lifetime of the satellite, since its operation usually requires it to be in a particular orbit. In modern satellites, these thrusters are also used to *make* the satellite crash into the earth at a safe spot as it nears the end of its operational life, in order to keep it from becoming space junk occupying the high orbitals.
2007-10-04 21:11:19 · answer #1 · answered by mycroft_holmes04 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
A satellite's lifespan is dictated by more than one factor. Fuel for station keeping is one such factor. Others that I can think of include amount of radiation damage, the batteries dying from charging and discharging cycles and solar array becoming less efficient. Besides, with the pace of technological advance, why would any one want to keep a sattelite operational for a hundred years?
2007-10-05 17:57:14 · answer #2 · answered by zi_xin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, they are already in orbit. The reason the orbit decays is that it is not a perfect ellipse around the earth, the earth is not uniform under the satellite so changes in gravitational pull, and even slight bits of gas from the top of the atmosphere will produce drag on the satellite.
2007-10-04 20:32:16 · answer #3 · answered by Howard H 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Refuelling alone wouldn't help, you'd need to reposition the satellite as its orbit would have decayed over time. It's much cheaper to simply send another satellite up (you don't even need manned craft to do it) rather than have to employ astronauts to do it.
2007-10-05 04:20:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Umm don't they use solar panels? I guess one way to fix that is replacing the storage battery's with more efficient ones. Technology completely changes every couple of years, by the time that things ready to fall out of the sky its probably time to replace it anyways.
2007-10-04 20:30:46 · answer #5 · answered by lwdierlam 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. A satallite runs on solar energy from the Sun.
2007-10-05 00:21:43 · answer #6 · answered by Minh V 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋