Xref: utzoo sci.space:23957 sci.space.shuttle:6239 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!haven!decuac!e2big.mko.dec.com!bacchus.pa.dec.com!decwrl!sdd.hp.com!usc!jarthur!nntp-server.caltech.edu!arrester!palmer From: palmer@arrester.caltech.edu (David Palmer) Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Intelsat salvage mission Message-ID: Date: 11 Aug 90 07:06:59 GMT References: <1990Aug9.051409.16353@zoo.toronto.edu> <13567@ulysses.att.com> <1990Aug11.033954.12002@zoo.toronto.edu> Sender: news@laguna.ccsf.caltech.edu Organization: California Institute of Technology Lines: 39 henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >In article <13567@ulysses.att.com> smb@ulysses.att.com (Steven Bellovin) writes: >>I'm a bit confused. I've seen no mention of refueling the stranded >>satellite's maneuvering engines. I know they used a lot of fuel to >>stabilize the orbit, and given that fuel supply is often the limiting >>factor on the lifetime of such satellites I'd think they'd want to >>do something about that. Does anyone have any more information? >There has been no mention of refueling, and I suspect they aren't going >to do it -- the satellite is not designed to be refuelled in space, and >NASA has never tried that sort of thing. (The Soviets do it all the >time, but they learned how during space-station operations, something >NASA has yet to attempt.) My guess would be that the fuel remaining >is sufficient for a good useful lifetime, albeit perhaps a somewhat >shorter one than intended. I heard that, a year or so ago, Hughes patented the idea of, 'Hey, if you let the satellite drift a bit, you won't use up as much fuel. All you have to do is move the ground antenna a bit to track it.' Was there anything more to the patent? Anyway, I guess that they will probably husband the fuel a bit more than they would otherwise, by keeping looser tolerances on the station keeping and putting it at one of the more stable longitudes (since Earth is not exactly spheroidal, some geostationary orbits are more stationary than others.) There are things they can do, but I don't know how much they will extend the life. >It is not possible to both understand | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology >and appreciate Intel CPUs. -D.Wolfskill| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry I'm glad you're no longer trashing Jules Verne. -- David Palmer palmer@gap.cco.caltech.edu ...rutgers!cit-vax!gap.cco.caltech.edu!palmer I have the power to cloud men's minds -- or at least my own.