How does the mass and size of a spacecraft influence the amount of energy needed for it to move through the vacuum of space?

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How does the mass and size of a spacecraft influence the amount of energy needed for it to move through the vacuum of space?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

F=ma.

Force = mass times acceleration.

Reworking that, acceleration = force divided by mass.

Thus, the acceleration gets smaller and smaller as the mass gets bigger.

So, if you want a bigger spaceship to accelerate as much as a smaller spaceship, you need more force–which means you need to push it with more energy.

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