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| Ravenger | ||||| Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 05:08 pm
Why dont you leave the old solar panels in space. not to sound dumb or anything but i think there is alot of space up there to leave the old solar panels for any future . emergencys that may be needed.. or maybe it could come in handy in 20 years for powering something small.. what could it hurt to leave something there. and save it for later.. |
| ravenger | ||||| Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 05:17 pm
to add to the story..maybe you could drop it off at the moon.meaning the panels.. just what if some day we were to crash on the moon and we just didnt have anypower to call home to show that were ok..just a thought to add any ideals for future.. |
| Edward Cheung | ||||| Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 05:28 pm
If you left the solar panels in space, it would represent another object to avoid. In addition, it would only last a few months before it would slow down and reenter the atmosphere.
As for the moon, the shuttle cannot go to the moon. Not enough fuel for the spacecraft and humans. |
| Dave | ||||| Tuesday, March 05, 2002 - 05:30 pm
Following the first Servicing Mission (1993), one of the original solar arrays failed to retract and had to be jettisoned. It orbited the earth until October 1998 when atmospheric drag finally brought it down too far and it burned up. Even at HST altitudes, things don't stay up forever. |
| os390 | ||||| Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 11:18 pm
Also solar cells degrade over time as they are constantly being bombarded by sunlight. The efficacy of the panels would be in question if they were ever to be used in an emergency situation in the future. |
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