Zkootz t1_jd2cudw wrote on March 21, 2023 at 10:17 AM

Reply to comment by burnbabyburn11 in 10 months after its launch by SpaceX, a $10,000 satellite made by students with off-the-shelf materials and powered by 48 Energizer AA batteries, is not only working, it's demonstrating a way to reduce space junk by lughnasadh

What would a gyro do more than rotate the satellite?

Mackie_Macheath t1_jd2j9hh wrote on March 21, 2023 at 11:34 AM

Orient the satellite different so the chute creates less drag or move even over the long trajectory slightly sidewards.

Zkootz t1_jd2l6m7 wrote on March 21, 2023 at 11:54 AM

Yeah but did the person not mean that gyroscopes could be used in vase thrusters are not working/out of fuel?

GoodyPower t1_jd331cu wrote on March 21, 2023 at 2:20 PM

I believe gyros can/could orient satellites especially those with a sail to use solar winds to deorbit.

https://issfd.org/ISSFD_2011/S12-Orbit.Dynamics.3-ODY3/S12_P3_ISSFD22_PF_038.pdf

Thelastosirus t1_jd63mfo wrote on March 22, 2023 at 2:23 AM

You are literally describing the Lightsail satellite experiment that went into orbit awhile back. It's meant to increase orbit using the pressure from the sun based off the angle of the sail, sort of like a wind sail. Just to keep you from wondering it actually works!