From: joe@strout.net   
      
   In article <1132606209.845310.125440@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,   
    "IsaacKuo"  wrote:   
      
   > The satellite then spends the next phase of the mission   
   > in that atmosphere scraping elliptical orbit.  It could   
   > perhaps have an orbit with a 48 hour period to dip into   
   > the atmosphere over the Pacific.  During atmospheric   
   > dips, it rams thin air into one tank.  During the rest   
   > of the orbit, air is fed through condensation tubes to   
   > a solar powered arcjet thermal electric rocket (maybe   
   > operated in pulses to minimize average power consumption).   
      
   You might be better off using electrodynamic propulsion, so it can   
   reboost its orbit without using any propellant at all.  Otherwise, I   
   suspect you'd end up spending all the air you collected just trying to   
   make up for the drag incurred collecting it.  (I'm assuming here that   
   all the air collected is useful to somebody in orbit, not just the water   
   vapor.)   
      
   Best,   
   - Joe   
      
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