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Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to... by lambda_obrien on Friday March 12, 2021 @04:57PM (#26441474)
Shoot it with a dart that has a really long wire attached to it, then release the wire to drag in atmosphere, so the satellite is slowly pulled down?
Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to... by CompuHacker on Friday March 12, 2021 @05:11PM (#26441595)
You can attach a wire to an object in Earth orbit and use the magnetic field of the Earth to change that object's orbit over time, as well.
Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to... by lambda_obrien on Friday March 12, 2021 @05:43PM (#26441863)
That's an interesting idea, I wonder if you would need a loop or a winding method to get enough counter-emf?
Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to... by morlockabove on Saturday March 13, 2021 @05:18AM (#26445532)
There are at least some proposals that use ionised particles in the earth's upper atmosphere as a conductive elements, meaning you don't need a loop as such- just a wire pointing towards the earth with a big metal ball on the end. Lorentz force means you can accelerate prograde or retrograde.
Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to... by lambda_obrien on Saturday March 13, 2021 @09:19PM (#26452181)
I find it fascinating to use the natural things you have available as a motive force, and it's really cool to think all you might need is a few bits of conductor and the earth's own relatively static magnetic field to move a satellite around.

I wish humans were less interested in the noisy, explosive things like engines and rockets, and more into subtlety.