* Astronomy

The idea of a graveyard orbit for dead satellites so as to limit space debris may not be very practical now, according to French space policy expert Isabelle Soubes Verger. She was in the city last weekend to participate in a conference at the VSSC, Thumba that was organised by the Alliance Francaise in collaboration with the Embassy of France in India.

"To shift a dying spacecraft to a graveyard orbit, we need lots of fuel" - Isabelle Soubes Verger, senior researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris.

The transfer to graveyard orbit requires the same amount of fuel that a satellite needs for approximately three months of station-keeping.

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