Chelovek & Moon_girl
Hey Chelovek, I’ve been tracking the orbital decay of the LEO satellites and noticed a pattern that could be corrected with a simple tweak to their thrust schedule. Want to go through the math and see if we can reduce their fuel usage?
Sure, let’s start with the basic decay equation for a circular LEO: dV/dt = –(C_d·ρ·A·V²)/(2m). From that we can estimate the required ΔV to counteract the decay over a given time window. Then we can split that ΔV into short, periodic burns that match the orbital period, reducing the total fuel by avoiding a single large thrust. We just need to plug in the satellite’s mass, area, drag coefficient, and the atmospheric density at the relevant altitudes. Once we have the ΔV budget, we can schedule the burns at perigee where the atmospheric density is highest, giving us the most efficient use of propellant. Does that sound like a plan?
That’s the right track—just make sure we have the latest atmospheric profile for that altitude, or I’ll end up plotting a bunch of useless doodles in the margins. Also, can you grab a snack? I keep forgetting to eat while I’m knee‑deep in numbers.