Re: Level of Detail?

[damocles@nostromo.gate.net (Randy Vice)]

On Mon 14-Apr-1997  2:33p, bgarmer@tsc.net wrote:

>So would say a team in PR be able to paint a "hybernation" sat in this
gravity

>anomoly zones?


BG> The problem wouldn't be putting in a team in position to "paint"
BG> satellites in this area - its the fact that it has become the satellite
BG> grave yard.  You have several in it right now (when a geo-sat ends it
BG> useful life, they basically shut it off and let it drift over there to
BG> open up the spot - it is going to hit something, they will give it a
BG> little push to move it out of harms way).  Your sleep sat will have to
BG> either be strong enough to survive or be smart enough to survive.

Do they also get pulled down to the same altitude?  If not, could you use some
odd ball altitude for " magnetic zone storage"?  How much extra in propellant,
if we use a high powered plasma (minmum hydrogen, very high energy input)
would it take to send something to a L point and back? I was thinking if we
used a transfer vehicle from LEO-L5-LEO for the ComSat. the transfer vehicle
could be made up to look like a PAM/IUS so it could hide the extra fuel for
the round robin and since it's using propellent effecient plasma/ion engines.

>Let's play with the MP tech for a bit. Say the sat went into deep sleep mode
>and wandered where ever the mag anom zones are.  Let's also say it had a long
>duration fusion plant as well.  With the "crapload" of extra power (vs. say
>photoelectric cells), wouldn't ion (or plasma) onboard engines be enough to
>transfer it to the parking slot and maintain this for a long time?  Now, if
>we have crapload of power, how about a magnetic funnel to guide spaceborne
>hydrogen into a storage system for extra sat propellant?


BG> You are asking for a lot.  The Micro-Sat series bus uses magnetic
BG> thrusters that work against the earth's field.  The ion engines still
BG> require a propellent of some kind and the "magnetic funnel" would be
BG> huge.

I would figure, since we are at "fairly" close to Sol, hydrogen would be fair
abundant in Earth orbit.  How big is "huge" btw?

>way of doing this is to do a moon bounce.  Yes, it's limited coverage time,
>but it's a cheap and skeezy way of cover CONUS. 


BG> Depending on allowable access number (lets say earth-moon-earth bounce is
BG> about 50%) you could do it for 16 to 24 satellites for about 100% access.

Yet the cost factor has to be though of, and the confidence that it will
survive WW III.  I have alot of confidence that the moon will still be there.
:^)

<snip>

BG> EME usually requires a better high gain antenna (the dipole include with
BG> teh PRC-70 will not do) than the teams have.  You would have to stop to
BG> erect it (I have never bounced signals this way - just reviewing the
BG> literature).

I'm sure it would be a more pain in the butt to assemble/disassemble and hump
it, however, it's assuring communications, reguardless of what could happen to
any com bird in orbit prior to the war.

: damocles@nostromo.gate.net :   Bruce Morrow,a man before and after his time:
:"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the     :
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