Why do rockets need to fly at speed greater than 11.81 km/s (escape velocity)?

1.06K views

Isn’t going up with velocity greater than 9.81 m/s be enough to escape earth’s gravity?

In: Physics

9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Rockets don’t need to fly at speed greater than escape velocity unless they’re going into interplanetary space.

They do need to have enough fuel to achieve a theoretical change in velocity significantly greater than orbital velocity, as some will be used to increase altitude and some will be lost to atmospheric and gravitational drag.

You are viewing 1 out of 9 answers, click here to view all answers.