I was wondering! If they attached a cable (maby 4 inches thick ) to the space shuttle ( I guess it would have to be 1000 miles long) then it took off,then they could pull it in from a large winch if it was to get lost in the ocean! wouldnt that work ???
2007-06-27 02:47:41 · 8 answers · asked by DagNaggit limpuladerfy II 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
nice try but no, not really. kind of like an elevator to the stars but the blast from the retro rockets would take care of the cable. and even if science could come up w/a cable able withstand such a force, pulling them back to earth would/might cause a irreversible problem - i.e.: yanking them back to earth does cause whiplash. see, when you raise something from the ocean floor, the medium you speak of is water & the rise is perpendicular (straight up). yanking them from space - the medium is air & air is a gas, lots of space between the molecules, etc. you have wind, rain, earth elements to consider - way too many variables, etc. nothing wrong with your line of thinking but not here! not now but maybe in the future...?
2007-06-27 03:05:23 · answer #1 · answered by blackjack432001 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really - but it's a nice idea (see "space elevator" below).
The space shuttle doesn't stay over one point on earth, it is constantly orbiting, and changing the point it is directly above, so the cable would get wrapped around the earth, and would drag the shuttle down.
A cable 1000 miles long (or whatever) would weigh an awful lot, and the shuttle wouldn't be able to lift it into space.
Also, if the shuttle "got lost" and crashed in the ocean, I imagine the odds of anyone surviving would be slim.
2007-06-27 09:55:09 · answer #2 · answered by gribbling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. A cable that big would be too heavy. The shuttle could not pull it all the way out. Also, there is no winch that can unroll fast enough to keep up with the motion of the Shuttle for more than the first few seconds of flight.
2007-06-27 09:53:55 · answer #3 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
With modern technology (GPS Systems), we will never lose a space shuttle in the ocean anymore. And plus, every return flight is carefully monitered so NASA or the ESA knows the exact location and everything going on inside the shuttle up the the millimeter.
And plus, im pretty sure its a hazard because what if the cord wraps around a part of the shuttle by mistake? That could be extremely fatal.
2007-06-27 09:55:32 · answer #4 · answered by Ryan C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
even if they could make a cable that was long enough, strong enough, and still light enough to not interfere with the space shuttle's flight they would still have to figure out how the space shuttle could orbit the earth without wrapping the cable around the earth like a tether ball.
Nice thought, but just too impractical in soo many ways.
2007-06-27 09:57:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The weight of one mile of 4 inch thick cable would be more than the cable itself. The weight of 1000 miles of 4 inch thick cable would be so much that it would snap from its own weight.
2007-06-27 09:56:10 · answer #6 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
With a velocity up to 15 000 mph...? I don't think so.
2007-06-27 11:41:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i like your thought but i dont think itll work!! :(
2007-06-27 10:28:02 · answer #8 · answered by ♥ F@$H!0N ♥ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋