We don't need anything so fancy as springs or rubber bands. Electric propulsion is a mature, safe technology, with many universities and organizations developing experimental thrusters that need to be tested in space. Some of them even use solid propellant so no need to do safety qualification on a high pressure gas cylinder. Nothing at all to explode. That is how we will get our next HEO satellite.

Dan Schultz N8FGV

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And of someone wanted to try out a new propulsion system on a live satellite, I'm sure AMSAT would be more than happy to help with the comms side of things.

One can understand the reluctance to allow an explosive kick-motor on a launch vehicle. But is that the only way?

What about a trebuchet? Springs? Rubber bands? Cylinders of compressed gas? Gas produced when needed by mixing two stable chemicals together? A motor that spins up an arm to 'throw' the payload? A magnetic railgun that fires a slug down out of orbit, resulting in recoil pushing the satellite up? Or the payload up, while deorbiting the railgun?

Surely someone smarter than I can come up with a scheme that might actually work? And someone with a smoother tongue than I can persuade a university that this is valuable research to be pursued by their space science department?

-- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle