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submitted 1 year ago by poVoq@slrpnk.net to c/space@beehaw.org
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[-] weew@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If there's life on that planet, they gonna have a hard time making it to orbit

I actually wonder what's the biggest (rocky) planet that is actually possible to launch a chemical rocket from. At some point you just can't get enough thrust to weight, right? They'd have to resort to exotic stuff like nuclear fission engines.

[-] Sierra_Is_Bee@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

I'm not an engineer or anything, but perhaps you could get a space elevator high enough to reach escape velocity more easily. Then again, it would have to be very tall I'm sure... Never mind probably not feasible.

[-] zhunk@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

For a geostationary orbit, which is where the center of mass of a space elevator would be:

h = ³√ G * m * T² / ( 4 * π² ) - r

  • h: orbit height (m)
  • G: gravitational constant
  • m: mass of celestial body (kg)
  • T: period of rotation (s)
  • r: radius of celestial body (m)

So, if the mass goes way up, the height of the orbit will, too, unless something crazy happens like the planet spinning super fast.

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this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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