Can a launch vehicle put several different satellites into different RAAN in one launch?

Question

I am trying to see how frequently I can acquire a link for 1,2,3,4,5 or more satellites.

When I began, I just decided to separate satellites by True anomoly, because that made the most sense. But now I'm wondering if I can try out different RAAN of each satellite, because that might be better.

So if I have 4 satellites, can I put them at the same inclination but with different RAAN (90,180,270,360)? This would be done in one launch.

Is that possible, or does that make for a much more costly launch, or multiple launches? This is a LEO I'm looking at right now.

Answer 1

You can, but it will take time and fuel.

The Right Ascension changes with time. The higher you are, the longer an orbit takes, and the slower your drift will be. Thus, you can start drifting your satellites by setting them at different altitude. Once you have reached your desired separation, you then have the satellites burn to be in the same plane.

Depending on how much fuel you are willing to spend, this could take a year or more to happen. It would take about a year to drift 90 degrees if separated by 100 km or so, depending on the inclination.