Questions tagged [station-keeping]
Operations done to keep a spacecraft in a particular orbit. Generally done by by thruster burns. In LEO this must be done to counteract the momentum loss to atmospheric drag. In other orbits it may be needed to maintain a planned relative position over a long period of time.
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How bad is a non-Lagrangian Point orbit?
I am no expert on space physics, just an interested amateur. I've been searching for a few weeks and having a hard time gaining insight on this question. Phrasing the question more specifically: how ...
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How does a satellite's mass affect its fuel consumption to maintain orbit?
Given two otherwise identical satellites in identical orbits, the more massive one's orbit decays more slowly from atmospheric drag: $F=ma$, same $F$ (drag), bigger $m$, so smaller $a$ (decay). So ...
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How to maintain minimum distance between satellites for duration of their orbits
I am working on a simulation in python that involves propagating hundreds of satellites over time. For simplicity, let's assume I have satellites at only a single inclination separated into multiple ...
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Why does the the Artemis I translunar flight (have to) last 6 days while the Apollo fights to the Moon lasted only about 3 days? [duplicate]
Does the Artemis I flight to the Moon have to last so long compared to the about 3 days long lasting Apollo flights because the Orion spacecraft has to enter into a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) ?
Or ...
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The Earth's rotation does change by small amounts; what is done to keep geostationary satellites aligned with ground stations? [duplicate]
Are satellites moved to keep them aligned? Are they at risk of becoming unusable from the small, but measurable changes to Earth's rotation?
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What size are the typical keep-inside boxes of geostationary telco satellites?
Geo sats need station-keeping and the size of their keep-inside box is a design parameter. A smaller box implies more manoeuvres to stay inside the box. All depending on the various orbit ...
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What size of a solar sail would you need to overcome orbital decay? [duplicate]
Specifics of the question:
Placed into a 400km 0 inclination orbit
10 kg 20cm cube
Able to orient itself in any direction
Let’s say we want this satellite to be able to indefinitely orbit earth. ...
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What formation-keeping software does MMS use?
The Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission is a NASA mission consisting of four satellites arranged (at apogee) in a tetrahedral formation. According to this 2015 source:
On Oct. 15, 2015, a NASA ...
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What formation-keeping maneuvers are required by MMS?
The Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission is a NASA mission consisting of four satellites arranged (at apogee) in a tetrahedral formation. According to this 2015 source:
On Oct. 15, 2015, a NASA ...
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Has JWST done its first station keeping yet?
Has JWST done its first station keeping yet? The last burn I know about was the MCC2 burn on Jan24; more than 21 days ago; and that was a pretty long burn with a $\Delta v$ of 1.6 m/sec or 160 cm/sec, ...
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How frequent are (or will be) JWST station keeping burns at L2?
Does anyone have solid information regarding the scheduled/anticipated station keeping burns for JWST at L2? In an online video I've heard mention of 'every 21 days' which at first look seems ...
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How much margin does JWST have for station keeping in Halo orbit?
How much margin in $\frac{m}{s}$ does JWST have for station keeping in Halo orbit?
JWST must always stay on the earth side of the L2 saddle since thrusters only point towards the sun. Also` solar ...
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Since L2 has no visible marker, how will James Webb's ground control determine its relative position and velocity for station keeping?
James Webb will be in a halo orbit, station keeping around the Sun-Earth L2 point. This means it needs to monitor its position with regard to L2, for periodic station keeping purposes.
But L2 isn't an ...
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How much fuel did JWST save due to an accurate launch, and how much will remain after L2 orbit?
How much fuel did JWST save due to an accurate Arianne 5 launch, and how much fuel will be remaining after JWST L2 orbital insertion? And how many years is that fuel expected to last?
According to ...
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Is JWST actually in a Lissajous orbit? What will it look like? Implications for station-keeping?
Note: for lots of great background related to this question, see lagrangian points - The design of the halo orbit of the James Webb Space Telescope - Space Exploration Stack Exchange
There are ...
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