Deflecting asteroids and exploring a metal world
Physics World Stories Podcast
00:00
The Science of Earth Orbiting Satellites
Solar panels have to be much larger because the sun is almost ten times dimmer where we're goingand so we need bigger solar panels than if you were in earth orbit. The propulsion system actually has a lot of similarities to what many satellites companies used for earth orbiting satellites. They use this electric propulsion design. Its not chemical rockets, but it's a firing o heavy atoms, like zenon ot ot o nozzle. And it's very, very low thrust, but for a long period of time, you can get the same amount of of o ump of action as as a short fired, highly powerful chemical rocket.
Play episode from 06:26
Transcript
