Date: 21/09/2024 09:23:31
From: Tau.Neutrino
ID: 2198259
Subject: Satellite positioning question
Do satellites have a global positioning system / avoidance system of some kind?
Do satellites have a global positioning system / avoidance system of some kind?
yes
SCIENCE said:
yes
Can they see each other ?
Tau.Neutrino said:
SCIENCE said:
yes
Can they see each other ?
Generally, no.
Collison avoidance is based on the fact that space is a big place, the orbits are large, and the satellites are comparatively microscopic.
All satellites are tracked, and i suppose that, if their owners get enough advance warning, and there’s propellant left in a satellite with a suitable system, they could move it out of the collision path.
But, satellites collide with stuff all the time. Even a fleck of paint, moving at 18,000 miles per hour, can make bit of ding in your satellite. Very small, but very real. A panel brough back from the HST was peppered with tiny impact hits after 15 years in orbit. Space shuttle windows have absorbed hits, which were, fortunately, not big enough to do serious damage.
We don’t really know how many satellites have been damaged of destroyed by collisions, as they sometimes just stop working and it’s anyone’s guess as to why, and there’s some satellites that their owners just don’t admit to being there in the first place.
It’s pretty much inevitable that two satellites will eventually collide, andthat will have a cascading effect, as the debris from that crash impacts on more satellites.
It will be an interesting time, to say the least.
captain_spalding said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
SCIENCE said:
yes
Can they see each other ?
Generally, no.
Collison avoidance is based on the fact that space is a big place, the orbits are large, and the satellites are comparatively microscopic.
All satellites are tracked, and i suppose that, if their owners get enough advance warning, and there’s propellant left in a satellite with a suitable system, they could move it out of the collision path.
But, satellites collide with stuff all the time. Even a fleck of paint, moving at 18,000 miles per hour, can make bit of ding in your satellite. Very small, but very real. A panel brough back from the HST was peppered with tiny impact hits after 15 years in orbit. Space shuttle windows have absorbed hits, which were, fortunately, not big enough to do serious damage.
We don’t really know how many satellites have been damaged of destroyed by collisions, as they sometimes just stop working and it’s anyone’s guess as to why, and there’s some satellites that their owners just don’t admit to being there in the first place.
It’s pretty much inevitable that two satellites will eventually collide, andthat will have a cascading effect, as the debris from that crash impacts on more satellites.
It will be an interesting time, to say the least.
The Kessler Syndrome, it does concern me somewhat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
captain_spalding said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
SCIENCE said:
yes
Can they see each other ?
Generally, no.
Collison avoidance is based on the fact that space is a big place, the orbits are large, and the satellites are comparatively microscopic.
All satellites are tracked, and i suppose that, if their owners get enough advance warning, and there’s propellant left in a satellite with a suitable system, they could move it out of the collision path.
But, satellites collide with stuff all the time. Even a fleck of paint, moving at 18,000 miles per hour, can make bit of ding in your satellite. Very small, but very real. A panel brough back from the HST was peppered with tiny impact hits after 15 years in orbit. Space shuttle windows have absorbed hits, which were, fortunately, not big enough to do serious damage.
We don’t really know how many satellites have been damaged of destroyed by collisions, as they sometimes just stop working and it’s anyone’s guess as to why, and there’s some satellites that their owners just don’t admit to being there in the first place.
It’s pretty much inevitable that two satellites will eventually collide, andthat will have a cascading effect, as the debris from that crash impacts on more satellites.
It will be an interesting time, to say the least.
Already had a big one.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision
Kingy said:
captain_spalding said:
Tau.Neutrino said:
Can they see each other ?
Generally, no.
Collison avoidance is based on the fact that space is a big place, the orbits are large, and the satellites are comparatively microscopic.
All satellites are tracked, and i suppose that, if their owners get enough advance warning, and there’s propellant left in a satellite with a suitable system, they could move it out of the collision path.
But, satellites collide with stuff all the time. Even a fleck of paint, moving at 18,000 miles per hour, can make bit of ding in your satellite. Very small, but very real. A panel brough back from the HST was peppered with tiny impact hits after 15 years in orbit. Space shuttle windows have absorbed hits, which were, fortunately, not big enough to do serious damage.
We don’t really know how many satellites have been damaged of destroyed by collisions, as they sometimes just stop working and it’s anyone’s guess as to why, and there’s some satellites that their owners just don’t admit to being there in the first place.
It’s pretty much inevitable that two satellites will eventually collide, andthat will have a cascading effect, as the debris from that crash impacts on more satellites.
It will be an interesting time, to say the least.
Already had a big one.