Written by Katyanna Quach
Very low Earth orbit birds could sip the outer atmosphere on their way up.
Electric propulsion systems that generate power from the scant air in the outer edges of the atmosphere could drive satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO), without the need for conventional propellants – at least in theory.
Armed with $400,000 in funding from DARPA, boffins at the US Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and academics at the George Washington University (GWU) are building prototypes for the technology.
A satellite's lifetime is usually determined by the amount of fuel it carries, because they need to fire thrusters to stay in orbit. Once these sats run out of juice to counteract any drag or other annoying effects they experience, they fall into the atmosphere and burn up (or occasionally fall to Earth).
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