Re: [iwar] re: keeping Mir in orbit


From: Tony Bartoletti
From: azb@llnl.gov
To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
Tue, 27 Mar 2001 12:25:49 -0800 

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To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
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From: Tony Bartoletti 
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Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 12:25:49 -0800
Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [iwar] re: keeping Mir in orbit
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At 09:43 AM 3/27/01 +0100, you wrote:
> >I have to wonder ... seems to me that a very small thrust-device could have
> >been attached that would have pushed Mir into higher orbit, and we could
> >have kept it in orbit indefinitely.  Regardless of its functionality, as a
> >source
> >of raw materials, just imagine the cost of putting that much mass into
>orbit.
>
>MIR was in quite a low Earth orbit that decays quite fast. The ISS drops
>something like 1 mile per week, and needs to be reboosted by the shuttle on
>every visit. A permanently attached booster unit was planned, but I believe
>is one of the victims of the recent budget cuts.
>
>In order to achieve anything like a 'permanent'  orbit the booster would
>need to have taken MIR out to near the geosynchronous belt at 25,000 miles,
>and that is a long way to move 135 tons. Lots of reaction mass needed, so
>quite a big thrust device actually.

Understood.  Only "L4" and "L5" are truly stable points, at least until the 
moon falls :)

>In addition, the 'raw materials' are unlikely to be of any use - no way to
>reprocess them up there, and the damage from micrometeorites, radiation, etc
>are likely to have rendered the whole thing useless before there was any
>means to try to recycle any of the station. None of it's systems would be
>compatible with the new designs adopted for ISS anyway.
>
>The mass is only acting as space debris if it is of no use. Doesn't matter
>if it is 1 ton or 1 million - if it serves no purpose, it's just getting in
>the way. Again, meteorite collision could break it up into smaller particles
>with random orbits that could pose a danger to other low-earth orbit bodies
>or anything being launched. You would also lose control over where to bring
>it down if any damage occurred to the control systems. Would you want to
>risk it coming down somewhere populated ?
>
>hope this helps to explain matters.

Yes, it does, thank you.

If it had any value as either an "emergency habitat" or other such 
function, it might have made sense to boost it to an out-of-danger orbit, 
and perhaps cover it in a "flak-blanket" to keep small impacts from 
chipping pieces loose.

All academic now, of course.

___tony___

>David Alexander M.INSTIS
>Global client-server & Communications Manager
>Bookham Technology plc
>
>DDI: 01235 837823
>David.Alexander@Bookham.com


Tony Bartoletti 925-422-3881 
Information Operations, Warfare and Assurance Center
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA 94551-9900





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