Message posted by Brian L on April 16, 2012 at 11:58:55 PST:
I'm no expert but a fun way to learn about what you can/cannot do to adjust orbit is to read something like "How Apollo Flew to the Moon". It has an interesting discussion on the various orbit-changing scenarios that the Command Module Pilot had to prepare in case the lunar module couldn't make the expected orbit. In that case, the command module had limited ability to change its own orbit to a lower orbit to try and rescue the lunar module. You gain an appreciation for how little you can really do to change your orbit unless you have a LOT of fuel and a big engine. It took that big rocket a LOT of burn time to place the X-37B into its present orbit and it would take a lot of thrust to put it into a different orbit. For a few chuckles, I always enjoyed Dale Brown's 1988 novel "Silver Tower" (2nd big hit after Flight of the Old Dog which briefly discussed Groom Lake). He depicted a USAF manned battle satellite that could rocket on over to just about anywhere on earth with minor thrust adjustments: pretty funny....
In Reply to: Re: X-37B Orbit posted by RickB on April 15, 2012 at 11:09:36 PST:
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