Why do rockets curve when leaving earth?
Is it the cause of natural forces or a predetermined path by scientist before launched?
Do most rockets follow a general curve or does it depend on thrust, lift (when rocket is horizontal), height position, etc.?
Is it required or could it theoretically just go straight up assuming infinite fuel?
Thanks in advance!
In: Physics
For this you need to have some basic knowledge of orbital mechanics and newtonian physics. Say you are in an elevator, and the elevator begins to fall. While the elevator is falling, you feel weightless because there is no floor pushing up on you. Orbiting the Earth is like that. The space station isn’t actually ‘weightless’, it’s just falling sideways constantly, and instead of splatting on the ground, it just misses the planet and goes around again, so it *feels* weightless. If it begins to slow down sideways, then it will keep falling, but it won’t miss the planet, and it will crash. If you somehow held it in place with magic, then the astronauts inside would feel about 90% the gravity we feel down here. When rockets curve, it’s so that they can pick up that sideways speed so that they can fall and perpetually miss the planet. In theory, if you just wanted to go up and back down (like with Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard rocket, that rocket goes up, then comes right back down), then you wouldn’t need to go sideways, but most rockets want to get into orbit, so they curve.
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