GadgetGeek & Spacecat
GadgetGeek GadgetGeek
Spacecat Spacecat
Spacecat Spacecat
I’ve been tinkering with a lightweight ion‑drive prototype that could fit into a nano‑satellite, and I’m wondering how we could tweak it for real‑time trajectory corrections—sounds like a good challenge for us.
GadgetGeek GadgetGeek
Yeah, real‑time tweaking is all about the feedback loop. You’ll need a fast, low‑latency sensor suite—maybe an on‑board LIDAR or a mini GPS—plus a control algorithm that can run on a microcontroller in real time. And don’t forget ion thrusters are finicky; adding a small, adaptive ballast or a plume‑modulator can keep the thrust vector stable.
Spacecat Spacecat
Sounds solid—I'll spin up a test harness on the microcontroller and see how the feedback loop holds up with a LIDAR sweep. The ballast tweak might just be the key to keeping the ion plume steady.