• cordlesslamp@lemmy.today
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    6 months ago

    There is currently no way to do it on a budget.>

    Launch the capsule into space in an orbit around earth that’s always obscure from the sun?

    Not a “budget” option but definitely a hell lot cheaper in the long run (decades, or even centuries).

    • archomrade [he/him]@midwest.social
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      6 months ago

      TIL things still get hot in space under direct sunlight. I always assumed space would be cold even in sunlight but apparently not.

      anyway, I would think you could still be in a sunlit orbit as long as you had a reflective shield for shading. You’ll probably still need power to maintain temps and monitor status, so solar energy would still be helpful.

      • CommissarVulpin@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Fun fact! During the Apollo flights to and from the Moon, the spacecraft would perform “Passive Thermal Control” or “barbecue roll” where it would rotate around its long axis about once per hour, to distribute the thermal load from the sun and keep one side from heating up too much

    • Allero@lemmy.today
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      6 months ago

      Is there such an orbit? That should be an orbit with a period of 1 year, which is far outside Earth’s sphere of gravitational influence.