Author Topic: Cubesat solar sails and fixing the debris field problem  (Read 1530 times)

Offline cgrunska

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http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/03/30/tiny-cubesail-could-ease-the-clutter-of-space-junk-in-earths-orbit/
just read that article, talks about usinga  solar sail from a cube sat (4in x 4in x 1 foot) that extends to a 16 foot solar sail to deorbit space junk cheaply and easily

they are saying they want to put it on all new satilites that go up
wondering if they can send it up by itself to attach to some junk already up there to deorbit

also, is it practical? I remember people saying a lot of stuff is waaaay tiny
and finally, wasn't sure where to put this, so i chose this portion of the forum. move if necessary!

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Cubesat solar sails and fixing the debris field problem
« Reply #1 on: 03/31/2010 06:56 pm »
This is part of another thread...http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15964.msg565032#msg565032

Smaller pieces have a greater frontal-area-to-mass ratio, so they tend to deorbit faster than large pieces.
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

Offline cgrunska

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Re: Cubesat solar sails and fixing the debris field problem
« Reply #2 on: 03/31/2010 06:58 pm »
dang, good work there :)

hard to keep track of where everything is on this forum

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