why cant we ship our trash directly into the sun ?

Question

wont this solve our landfill problems ? will it work?

Answer 1

Putting stuff into Earth orbit costs several thousand dollars per pound. Sending it to the Sun would cost more. Assuming we could get that down to $1000 per pound by economies of scale, what do you figure the monthly garbage bill would be for your household?

The US produces about 500 billion pounds of solid waste per year. If our rockets had a payload equal to the space shuttle, about 250,000 pounds, that would require about two million launches per year, or around 5,500 per day. The noise would certainly be a problem, not to mention the total destruction of the ozone layer. Better you should recycle more.

Answer 2

NASA's golden rule: Never tamper w/ what you don't don't have knowledge about.

We can't possibly guess the outcome of various things going into space like that. If trash goes to the sun, a reaction undesireable might happen. Some of it might go off target and end up on a planet. In the event of something like that happening, you have caused unplanned, unnatural things to occur.

Plus, it would cost alot to do that.

Answer 3

To launch a ship in near earth orbit it will cost about 10,000 dollars per pound.

Answer 4

No! Its not economically possible! Mabe in the future! You know how much it costs just to send a rocket into space? Well; lets say it like Mr. T! It ain't "Chump Change"!

Answer 5

The Ship we send with the trash on, was made from trash.

Answer 6

it takes 100 tonnes of fuel to launch 10 tons of stuff into space.
So this basically replaces small trash problem with major carbon emissions one.

Answer 7

It would cost way too much .... Think of all the garbage trucks you'd be launching into space each day

Answer 8

rockets are expensive.
lots of propellant to launch all that garbage.
no one has wanted to spend that much to get rid of our trash.
landfills are cheaper that's why humanity has chosen it.

Answer 9

It wouldn't be cost effective.