Celestrack page for OTP-2Nothing other than normal orbital decay thus far.
Quote from: edzieba on 08/12/2025 10:41 amCelestrack page for OTP-2Nothing other than normal orbital decay thus far.OTP-2's drive only started initial calibration 3 days ago.
Any updates?
What's the test schedule for the Mile Space water-ion thruster that is also on board OTP-2?
Rogue’s Operational Test Program (OTP)-2 hits 180 days in orbit today! Real on-orbit wins…all payloads commissioned, customer hardware tested, and first photos downlinked / processed using Rogue’s next-generation edge computing Scalable Compute Platform (SCP). Next: On-orbit data-triage & autonomy tests with #SCP, customer payloads keep iterating, and even sharper on-board image processing, where Rogue’s performance and learning translates into smarter, faster, and more resilient hosting.
The claim so far is that orbital decay has slowed to date:
It looks like IVO is live and thrusting folks!!! 🎉🥳🥳🥳🎉
A temporary reduction in upper atmospheric density would slow the orbital decay. It would directly lowers aerodynamic drag on the satellite. This density variation is a natural consequence of space weather dynamics and does not require active intervention like propulsion.Solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation ionizes and heats the thermosphere, puffing it up and increasing density by 20–100% during active periods. Lower F10.7 → cooler, denser contraction → less drag.September saw elevated activity (monthly F10.7 ~130 sfu), with flares and coronal activity noted mid- and late-month (e.g., farside blasts visible ~Sept 27). Early October quieted (low flare chance by Oct 7), likely dipping daily F10.7 below September averages, reducing heating and density by ~10–20%.Late September had moderate-to-strong storms (G2–G3 watches Sept 1–2, ongoing activity mid-month). Early October started with a G3 storm (Oct 2, high-speed solar wind stream), causing brief density spike (explaining small drops Oct 2–3). Post-storm quiet (Kp ~4 on Oct 6–8, low activity forecast) allowed rapid cooling, dropping density ~30–50% below storm levels and stabilizing the orbit (no decay Oct 4–6).
Obviously if this is confirmed it has huge implications for orbital and above space flight. However the bigger implications are likely to be the theoretical impacts that confirmation of McCulloch will lead to.
...Quote from: demofsky on 10/08/2025 04:48 pmObviously if this is confirmed it has huge implications for orbital and above space flight. However the bigger implications are likely to be the theoretical impacts that confirmation of McCulloch will lead to.This literally cannot confirm McCulloch's theory, because his theory has been disproven multiple times over, both theoretically and experimentally.
I wish this sort of subject simply wasn’t allowed on NSF. Not only is it a waste of time but it impacts negatively on the authority of the site and the excellent material presented within it.
We don't reject McCulloch because it's impossible for it to be proven right. We reject it precisely because it could be proven right, and yet all experimentation has failed to do so.
