NASA launches robot to save Swift telescope falling to Earth (bbc.com) 1 points by msadowski 9d ago ↗ HN
[–] kevin_thibedeau 9d ago ↗ Swift is 10x past its mission lifetime. This is essentially an open demonstration of antisat tech. [–] throwaway27448 9d ago ↗ Antisat like LEO cleanup? Surely there are easier ways to destroy a satellite than launching a new one with arms. [–] superxpro12 9d ago ↗ What was mercury and gemini other than a demonstration of ICBM tech?
[–] throwaway27448 9d ago ↗ Antisat like LEO cleanup? Surely there are easier ways to destroy a satellite than launching a new one with arms.
[–] pavel_lishin 9d ago ↗ > When it was first launched it sat in an orbit at 373 miles (600 km) and has now lowered to around 220 miles (360 km), with most of that descent in the past two years.Hot damn, that's a lot of altitude lost.
[–] Ancalagon 9d ago ↗ Dumb question: do most NASA satellites in orbit not have some sort of center of mass hook just in case for operations like these? [–] idontwantthis 9d ago ↗ They do not.
7 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 21.0 ms ] threadHot damn, that's a lot of altitude lost.