This Satellite Will Literally Breathe Air to Stay in Orbit

This Satellite Will Literally Breathe Air to Stay in Orbit

The satellite is designed to scoop up gases from the atmosphere and use them to generate thrust.

At 224 kilometres above Earth, ESA's GOCE could have as little as two days to recover from a propulsion interruption: very low Earth orbit sharpens satellite images, but the atmosphere never stops pulling the spacecraft down

At 224 kilometres above Earth, ESA’s GOCE satellite was close enough to feel the upper atmosphere as a constant force. If its drag-control system stopped working, mission controllers could have as little as two days to recover it before the orbit became dangerously low. That detail has stayed with me because it strips away the tidy line we draw between atmosphere and space. Very low Earth orbit, usually shortened to VLEO, is not quite the empty …

Kreios Space: il satellite che respira aria per restare in orbita

A 200 chilometri di quota l’aria è così rarefatta che ci passano i fulmini senza quasi accorgersene. Kreios Space, startup spagnola, ha deciso che quella striscia sottile può diventare una cuccagna: col suo propulsore air-breathing, un suo satellite può letteralmente respirare aria invece di consumarla, raccogliendo ossigeno e azoto residui dall’alta atmosfera, ionizzandoli in una camera di plasma ed espellendoli come spinta. Sapete cosa signifi…