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Are there any satellites in geosynchronous but not geostationary orbits?
Yep, lots!
Apparently there are various advantages to being synchronous even when oscillating wildly in position above/below the Earth's equator (up to +/- 60 degrees!)
After seeing the figures below in A New Look at the GEO and Near-GEO Regimes: Operations, Disposals,and Debris (...
17
Lagrange points as I understand it are points in space between 2 objects where the gravitational pull between them is effectively equal.
A quick check of Wikipedia's Lagrangian point or any article will show that only one of the five Lagrange points are "between (the) two objects". The pulls are not equal, they balance in such a way as to allow for an orbit ...
6
The only stable points that orbit at the same speed as Earth are the L4 and L5 points, as you mention, but there are some unstable ones as well. See this pic from NASA:
L4 and L5 remain ahead of and behind the Earth, whereas L1, L2 and L3 are inherently unstable. From your question, I'd suggest L4 and L5 would be best suited, unless you really need ...
6
The temperature of space near earth is about as 10 degrees Celsius, but much cooler in interstellar space.
It depends. A better value is 5.2 degrees Celsius, and that assumes a macroscopic perfect blackbody that rotates rather quickly. The temperature of a sub-microscopic object in near Earth space would more likely be in the tens of thousands of degrees. ...
5
In its orbit around the sun, it's far enough from Earth, a good fraction of Earth's orbit's radius, that we wouldn't learn anything from plots of temperature w.r.t. altitude, that is, distance from Earth.
The "temperature of space," aka the black-body temperature of something sitting there, for something at Earth's distance from the sun, is indeed about 10 ...
5
Yes
The orbit you are talking about is one of the Lagrangian Points, the L2 point to be more precise.
As a matter of fact, a few satellites are there - and, most relevant to this question, the James Webb Telescope will be placed there.
Note that the L2 point is a point of gravitational equilibrium, but isn't actually a stable point. That means that ...
5
If I understand the question as it is evolving, you are looking for an orbit that produces a solar eclipse; a complete shadow of the Sun on a small area of the Earth, and further that the object casting the shadow not be in an orbit around the Earth as in the question Is a sun-blocking orbit possible? but instead be in a heliocentric orbit.
That would mean ...
4
Note: the question has been radically re-written since this answer was written. Consequently, it is no longer relevant to the question.
If you want an object to stay between the Sun and Earth, it has to be at the Earth-Sun L1 point, which is about 1.5 million km away. We already have stuff there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
4
A few samples:
Intelsat IVA/Hughes HS 736
JAXA ETS-8 demonstration satellite:
Not geostationary, but lots of detail for Sentinel-3A:
4
Specificity could turn a mammoth into an ant
Spacecraft designs are usually complex and would consist of several different categories of diagrams detailing each system separately. Sputnik 1 could be expected to have a nice single diagram, needing no extra detail. But modern spacecraft usually have an array of systems working with each other, it would be apt ...
3
You're on the right track looking up Lagrangian points, orbits where a small object can stay in the same relationship with two celestial bodies, one orbiting another. The one you are describing is the earth-sun L2 point, a point outside of earth's orbit around the sun. This Wikipedia page will tell you more.
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A real satellite has hundreds if not thousands of documents associated with the project from high level assembly drawings to low level fixturing and assembly diagrams. Documents from specific projects are usually protected by either the company of the country that has created them because of competition and national secrecy, but I can direct you to some ...
1
With engines!
Orbiting at L1 is completely feasible, as long as your satellite regularly uses little bursts from its engines to keep it there. L1 is "unstable", meaning that a satellite without engines will eventually drift away from L1. But the closer your satellite stays to L1, the less fuel it requires to stay in place. Low thrust, high specific impulse ...
1
Without a proper cooling solution, many mechanical processes build up heat quickly. Lathe and mill operations often utilize flood cooling by dumping a liquid on the part or on the tool to prevent them from melting or loosing structural integrity. To a lesser degree, the atmosphere is also often used to remove heat from parts. In a vacuum, the manufacturing ...
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