I saw a really stupid post on Facebook talking about “how rockets don’t work.” Flat earther conspiracy nonsense. I started reading on all the points the post made and the only one I didn’t understand is how at 22 x the speed of sound a rocket does not really go over 3g’s of force.
My assumption is that as the rocket travels further from the earth the gravity influence also influences g’s on an accelerating object?
Please help me with this one.
Thank you
In: 0
Thrust is cumulative. Orbital velocity is about 7500 meters per second, and 3g is about 30 meters per second per second. 7500/30 is 250 seconds of acceleration to reach orbit. Because the rocket is not at 3g for its entire burn, and losses from aerodynamic drag and gravity it actually takes about 500 seconds to reach orbit.
Why 3g? Humans. A human can only comfortably sustain 3g for long durations. Any more and they would be fighting to not pass out.
Latest Answers