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A comment on NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-satellites. Parent comment

Re:NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-sat... by dexen on Friday April 26, 2013 @11:59AM (#5613614)
Probably steered through thrust vectoring. Liquid fuel rocket engines are often built to gimbal, typically 1...2 degrees to each side. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_engine#Thrust_vectoring

Another possible method of steering is to build four or more reaction jets around the rocket; could be fed with a monopropellant or exhaust from the main engine or its turbopump.

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Re:NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-sat... by gngeal on Friday April 26, 2013 @05:02PM (#5615466)
If you can deal with slight decreases in thrust, you can also do thrust vectoring with injecting water or other suitable liquid into the nozzle in proper places. Could be mechanically simpler than gimbals in some cases.
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Re:NASA has three smartphones orbiting the earth as mini-sat... by bitwize on Friday April 26, 2013 @02:08PM (#5614457)
Thrust vectoring owns the sky! Now you've got me thinking of cellphones turning on a dime, Macross Zero style.
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