I’m imagining a cargo Dragon with the trunk loaded with extra fuel and gimbaling engines.I'm hoping the tug design offers good modeling opportunities. But I bet it'll be some Starship variant.
Maybe they can put some of those Starlink-enabled cameras on it and get some POV video of it burning in.
They could then use this design, paid for by NASA, as a general purpose tug. It should have plenty of extra delta V.I’m imagining a cargo Dragon with the trunk loaded with extra fuel and gimbaling engines.
I can't do the arithmetic in my head (I plead caffeine deprivation), but somehow I imagine 1 million pounds times x delta v equals a lot of fuel, more than a regular trunk. maybe not, considering how "easily" Progress can boost the orbit.I’m imagining a cargo Dragon with the trunk loaded with extra fuel and gimbaling engines.
They would let the orbit decay naturally, then use the tug to control the final entry point in the south Pacific.I can't do the arithmetic in my head (I plead caffeine deprivation), but somehow I imagine 1 million pounds times x delta v equals a lot of fuel, more than a regular trunk. maybe not, considering how "easily" Progress can boost the orbit.
If launched with a Falcon Heavy, the de-orbit vehicle could be quite heavy compared to a normal dragon.I can't do the arithmetic in my head (I plead caffeine deprivation), but somehow I imagine 1 million pounds times x delta v equals a lot of fuel, more than a regular trunk. maybe not, considering how "easily" Progress can boost the orbit.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/...n-to-deorbit-the-international-space-station/In their coverage, Ars Technica said that it was likely going to be a "Super Dragon" like they're planning on using at the Lunar Gateway space station. It's apparently a Crew Dragon with a bunch of extra stuff (including lots of fuel) in its service module.
It will probably be done in sections, just a guess.Interesting, I am not sure how much the reentry of such a large cumbersome vehicle can be controlled.
A Super Dragon or Dragon XL designed for supplying the Lunar Gateway would need to be modified with a propulsion system capable of deorbiting the ISS. In addition to much more thrust and propellant required, the engines would need to gimbal to ensure the thrust is in line with the station center of mass.In their coverage, Ars Technica said that it was likely going to be a "Super Dragon" like they're planning on using at the Lunar Gateway space station. It's apparently a Crew Dragon with a bunch of extra stuff (including lots of fuel) in its service module.
These mods would be necessary for a general purpose space tug or space trash disposal truck.A Super Dragon or Dragon XL designed for supplying the Lunar Gateway would need to be modified with a propulsion system capable of deorbiting the ISS. In addition to much more thrust and propellant required, the engines would need to gimbal to ensure the thrust is in line with the station center of mass.
It will probably be done in sections, just a guess.
Maybe SpaceX will build a Hammerhead Corvette ala Rogue One
View attachment 653315
see https://screenrant.com/star-wars-rogue-one-guide-trivia-ships-vehicles-uwing/#:~:text=Hammerhead
For a deorbiting maneuver, I believe that you want a lot of thrust right now so you can lower the object's altitude enough to get into reliably thicker air so you can hit a general target in the sea. That's pretty much the opposite of what NTP does. Plus, I'm willing to bet quite a bit of money that even if approved tomorrow and no major funding issues, an NTP system would not be flying in 2029 or 2030.If anyone wants a space tug then use NTP craft they have the thrust and the efficiency to deorbit 10 perhaps 15 times! Take DRACO and give it a harpoon gun, or maybe a spray foam that can be decomposed with another chemical.
Isn't there a docking port at either end of the main spine that you could use as the connection point? Smarter people than me would have to say whether the Super Draco thrusters could provide the necessary thrust (and incidental control) for a good de-orbit.A Super Dragon or Dragon XL designed for supplying the Lunar Gateway would need to be modified with a propulsion system capable of deorbiting the ISS. In addition to much more thrust and propellant required, the engines would need to gimbal to ensure the thrust is in line with the station center of mass.
Yeah, I suppose they could arrange multiple Super Draco engines such that throttling could provide control of the net thrust vector. But whether that is good enough is beyond me.Smarter people than me would have to say whether the Super Draco thrusters could provide the necessary thrust (and incidental control) for a good de-orbit.
I wasn’t suggesting that that’s what they use. just that NTP could be effective at deorbiting stuff. Actually I think you would need only 250mps of delta V to get a controlled reentry ( from space shuttle manual with 100 mps added for the extra mass) a pebble bed type NTP can manage that with 200mps to spare I’m not certain about burn time but it should be acceptable, if you have ever seen a military NTP they all are planned around pebble beds.For a deorbiting maneuver, I believe that you want a lot of thrust right now so you can lower the object's altitude enough to get into reliably thicker air so you can hit a general target in the sea. That's pretty much the opposite of what NTP does. Plus, I'm willing to bet quite a bit of money that even if approved tomorrow and no major funding issues, an NTP system would not be flying in 2029 or 2030.
Ok so if you’re traveling along a line then there’s 2 different ways to faceHere's where I display my ignorance of orbital mechanics. In what direction does one point a "de-orbit burn"?
The direction that causes deceleration. Decelerate = fall towards Earth, Accelerate = move further away. My description is really basic but its how it was explained to me, there are probably lots of really complicated manuevers as well.Here's where I display my ignorance of orbital mechanics. In what direction does one point a "de-orbit burn"?
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