The SpaceX Starship is a big deal

Re:The SpaceX Starship is a big deal by gbrown on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @11:32AM (#21398844)

I'm having trouble visualizing how this would be stable - from their reference frame (orbiting a Lagrange point), the pressure is coming unidirectionally. They'd be accelerated in one direction constantly, which seems like it couldn't possibly be stable.

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Re:The SpaceX Starship is a big deal by raducu on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @01:45PM (#21400422)

Actually, you are right, I was talking as if the shades are just orbiting the Sun.

L1 orbits do require station keeping.

Perhaps you could cheat a bit by making the shades black or oscilating/slanting them a bit forward/rearwards as to do the station keeping with very little fuel? Or shaping them like a lense to direct most light away from Earth, but not to experience too much net force?

Or they are just designed to be expendable?

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Re:The SpaceX Starship is a big deal by gpm on Wednesday October 30, 2019 @03:09PM (#21401354)

For what it's worth, Wikipedia suggests making them shaped like a lens.

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