this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2021
4 points (75.0% liked)
Science
13562 readers
2 users here now
Subscribe to see new publications and popular science coverage of current research on your homepage
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
That sounds like a weapon if anything does.
Not really. A system like this would have to have its orbit synchronized to a single point on the ground, where the receiving station is. Which would make it a pretty shitty weapon. Even with thrusters, it will be very slow to move and would run out of fuel if it needs to do much more than make micro-adjustments, like existing satellites use their thrusters for.
I think the hurdles of targeting/aiming could be overcome without thrusters. The Mars land rover doesn't use fuel. The sun would be the source of power.
In the vacuum of space, you need to eject mass to move. Unless you're talking about a light sail, which is limited to tiny objects. I don't know how the mars missions worked, but I imagine they would take advantage of Mars's (thin, but still present) atmosphere.
We're talking 2 different things. Satellites are stationary. The movement would be to target something on the ground. That can be done with servo motors (electro-magnetic). No mass has to be ejected for that.