2006-12-21 11:53:46 · 3 answers · asked by ReggieBushFan 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Could it blast off from California across the Pacific?
2006-12-21 12:14:33 · update #1
Because it's already moving in that direction, the Earth is rotating.
It's about 5% for free, and with the high cost of fuel they need all the help they can get.
They try to place spaceports at low latitudes for that reason, and in front of an ocean or unpopulated area for downrange safety.
What if a rocket breaks up and the pieces arc through the air for several hundred miles until they fall on a city? That might be bad.
2006-12-21 12:15:14 · answer #1 · answered by anonymous 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To take advantage of Earth's rotation to give an extra velocity boost. It is a free 400 m/s; going west, the rocket would have to provide that 400 m/s itself, AND balance the speed of Earth on top of it, so it would need 800 m/s extra speed.
2006-12-21 20:00:19 · answer #2 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good gosh...You don't want the things to crash in downtown Houston do you?
2006-12-21 20:08:37 · answer #3 · answered by zahbudar 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋