Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to...
by TeMPOraL on Saturday March 13, 2021 @11:42AM
(#26447712)
Long-term propellant issue could probably be solved by using a cold-gas thruster with a non-reactive propellant - basically a pressurized gas tank welded to a valve and a nozzle. It should have enough Δv to push you into a graveyard orbit, or even deorbit straight from GEO (though that's probably dangerous, and I imagine you could see spectacular fireworks from the ground, as the satellite would be hitting the atmosphere with a couple km/s more velocity than it's typical).
Re:Myanmar's satellite held by Japan on space station due to...
by dredmorbius on Sunday March 14, 2021 @07:57PM
(#26460871)
Solid thrusters being another possibility.
There's also the problem of retaining propellants over long periods without experiencing some negative consequence (detonation, unintended firing, volatilisation, etc).
But in general, minimising the special-handling cases would be an improvement.