ChronoLegion2 t1_j5p8t9x wrote
Reply to comment by aboy021 in Starlink Is ‘Forced’ To Finally Start Caring About The System’s Light Pollution And Harm To Scientific Research by Albion_Tourgee
Gravity overdid the concept. Anything flying that fast would shoot off into space. Orbit quite literally depends on your speed in relation to the planet. If you’re moving much faster, you can’t remain in the same orbit, since an orbit is just a path you follow when you fall and miss the ground (as Douglas Adams would put it)
mooseGoose89 t1_j5pb1hk wrote
This is incorrect.
The speed required for an object to go into space and orbit the Earth (orbital velocity) is about 28,000 km/hr (17,500 mph) at low earth orbit.
It's not impossible to have two objects in LEO traveling in opposite directions. Not sure what you think, but 56,000km/hr is fast enough to do unstoppable damage if they were to collide.
ChronoLegion2 t1_j5pjl1k wrote
Huh. Didn’t think about them moving in opposite directions
mooseGoose89 t1_j5pln41 wrote
Opposite directions might be a bit of a stretch in reality. But, at those velocities, any angular collision would also be pretty catastrophic.
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