the superior way of accelerating/decelerating stuff in space. if you are fascinated by this mode of propulsion email me at halvor@solstorm.io. we are hiring
> the superior way of accelerating/decelerating stuff in space.
I am a lay person but IMO you are confronted to some hard challenges:
- Where do you attach your tether on the targeted satellite as each of the ten of thousands satellites in orbit is not built in a standardized way?
- What is the risk that the targeted satellite desegregates when pulled down by the tether and debris stay in orbit for a long time? Particularly antennas and solar panels?
- What is the risk that in the dragged down procedure, your satellite/tether combo endangered another satellite?
- How do you plan to recognize the attachment point, and to maneuver around the satellite to reach it? For example the attachement point could be "buried" in an unreachable location because of antennas or solar panels?
As noted in other comments, electrodynamic tethers are used in space since a lot of time. What is interesting is how to solve practical challenges such as using a tether with a satellite target that was not designed for this kind of operation.
In 2011 I attended the first 100YSS conference when it was organized by the DARPA (a big thanks DARPA!) and there was a very interesting presentation about these topics.
