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this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2026
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this is for applying torque to the spacecraft, not generating thrust. these are just magnetorquers, which have been a thing for a while. the only thing new here is that they use superconducting magnets, which i assume just means they can more efficiently create magnetic fields. its cool but its not really a game changing development, more a refinement on an existing technology. science journalism has to make everything sexy for clicks though...
That's true for older magnetorquers, because the Earth's magnetic field is smooth enough that the difference between field strength at the top and bottom of the satellite is insignificant.
With superconductors you can scale up the magnetic field strength enough to get a usable net linear force.
wtf are you talking about... linear and angular momentum are always conserved. the only way to get thrust is to expend mass. a magnetorquer exchanges angular momentum with the earth via its magnetic field. it cant be used to exchange linear momentum.