saltywalrusprkl
saltywalrusprkl t1_j1h9ls1 wrote
Reply to comment by alternative5 in China hoping rocket that can send people to the moon will be ready to launch by 2027 by Saltedline
You’re definitely never getting a direct transfer to the moon using mass drivers. You just need one that can rotate to adjust its inclination, launch payloads into orbit and then perform a TLI burn to get to the moon.
saltywalrusprkl t1_j1h82kc wrote
Reply to comment by alternative5 in China hoping rocket that can send people to the moon will be ready to launch by 2027 by Saltedline
- Mass drivers only really work for light payloads and still need a chemical rocket to get it most of the way because of the atmosphere
- There is only one optimal launch point on the earth; the equator.
saltywalrusprkl t1_j1h7ksg wrote
Reply to comment by Vagabond_Grey in Russia may need to send a rescue mission to the International Space Station for 3 astronauts after a leak in their Soyuz capsule by A_Lazko
The redbull guy wasn’t moving at thousands of metres per second horizontally like the ISS is in orbit. The hard part about getting to (or back from) space isn’t getting to a high enough altitude, it’s accelerating sideways fast enough to reach the correct orbital velocity.
saltywalrusprkl t1_iycgm7v wrote
Reply to comment by jeffsmith202 in Astronomers Worldwide Troubled by New 'Cell Phone Towers in Space' by IslandChillin
Why would you put solar panels that large in orbit?
saltywalrusprkl t1_j1hc1o4 wrote
Reply to comment by alternative5 in China hoping rocket that can send people to the moon will be ready to launch by 2027 by Saltedline
It is, but you don’t need the mass driver at a specific point on the equator to gain launch efficiency bonuses