A definite boon to this endeavor would be making future satellites as modular as possible. easy to unscrew antennae and solar panel arms or even computer cores or batteries.

A definite boon to this endeavor would be making future satellites as modular as possible. easy to unscrew antennae and solar panel arms or even computer cores or batteries

I think the days of stand-alone satellites are numbered, especially in geosynchronous orbits. There are only so many open slots for GO, since they all have to be along the equator and at the same altitude. Eventually we will need to build large modular frames that companies can rent space on. The renters could buy electric power and antena bandwidth from the landlord.

i don't understand why this hasn't been done yet. it seems like a no-brainer to me, especially since everyone has been up in arms about pollution and recycling since i can remeber. if you were a telecom corporation, wouldn't you want to get every last penny out of your satalites? at $100 million apiece it seems pretty obvious to make them in a way so that at least SOME components could be reused. planned obsolescence really only works at the consumer level. at the industrial level, you want your machines to last as long as they possibly can; go ahead, ask a factory owner or a farmer. when a belt breaks they don't burn it all down.
"but its not the same thing."
yes it is. its just more expensive. all the more reason to stretch that dollar, that dime, that penny, that credit chip implant.