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NAIL: Dr. Stevens, David from Oviedo: When the satellites are no longer operational, will they stay in their orbits indefinitely,

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or will they reenter the atmosphere?

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STEVENS: That's also a very good question.

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The orbital debris requirements that are placed upon our mission require

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that the satellites cannot stay in orbit longer than 25 years.

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So at the end of our mission, what we do is they command the satellite to activate the thruster and place the satellite in a lower,

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the satellite's in a lower orbit.

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The drag in the atmosphere as the, as the orbit decays will bring the satellites down in approximately 18 years,

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and they'll burn up in the atmosphere. There'll be no debris coming to the ground.