mercredi 12 novembre 2014

Low earth orbit, degradation, satellites. [Q]

Found myself at this page today, and the following passage sparked my curiosity:



SNAP-10A was launched from Vandenberg AFB by an ATLAS Agena D rocket on April 3, 1965 into a polar low Earth orbit altitude of approx. 1,300 km. It is in a retrograde orbit.



and



The reactor was left in a 700-nautical-mile (1,300 km) earth orbit for an expected duration of 4,000 years.[6] In November 1979 the vehicle began shedding, eventually losing 50 pieces of traceable debris. The reasons were unknown, but the cause could have been a collision. Although the main body remains in place, radioactive material may have been released.[1][4]



Question: How is this thing in a stable, 4,000-year-long low-earth-orbit without any functioning thrusters / nav / ground control intervention?





via ehMac.ca http://ift.tt/1sDIDjr

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