2007-10-12 13:08:16 · 7 answers · asked by Polar Bear 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The next time you're driving down the freeway, look at the other cars. They're moving a little faster or a little slower than you are.
The space station is moving at 17,500 MPH, but so is the craft it's docking with. If you've ever seen video of the shuttle or a Progress module docking with the ISS, take note how fast they seem to be moving with respect to each other; During the final moments of docking, the shuttle is only moving about 1 inch per second.
2007-10-12 14:28:27 · answer #1 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have to understand the concept of relative motion to understand how this is possible.
For example, pretend you are driving down the highway. A car comes along side you and then matches your speed perfectly. To you, the other car doesn't look like it's moving - when you compare it to your car instead of the highway. This is demonstrated by the fact that you have to look in the same spot to see that car.
A similar thing is happening when the Space Shuttle docks at the International Space Station. Both are traveling at very close to the same speed, and in the same direction, so their speed relative to each other is very small.
By keeping that relative speed small, the two can successfully dock without either being damaged.
2007-10-12 20:20:41 · answer #2 · answered by John B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The International Space Station is orbiting the Earth at a very high rate of speed. If it were not traveling at a high rate of speed, it would fall back to the Earth due to the Earth's gravity.
So, all that the space craft has to do is accelerate or decelerate as needed to match its speed exactly to
that of the ISS and docking can occur.
Regards,
Zah
2007-10-12 22:09:14 · answer #3 · answered by zahbudar 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The docking spacecraft has a low relative speed to the space station, like two cars on the highway traveling the same speed, if there was no air and no friction, if you opened the doors and jumped across, it would be pretty easy.
The key word here is relative- even though it is thousands of miles an hour, they aren't going fast compared to one another.
2007-10-12 20:16:05 · answer #4 · answered by mtlanglo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The speeds that are the concern is the relative speed at docking, not the speeds of the two spacecraft in question.
The shuttle docks with station at a relative speed somewhere 3" per second.
While they are travelling at 7 miles per second in their respective orbits.
2007-10-12 20:14:42 · answer #5 · answered by edward_otto@sbcglobal.net 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is because their relative speeds are not that different. They may both be hurtling along at 15,000 miles an hour (or whatever), but one is going 15,000 and the other is going 15,000.1 mph. So really they are only approaching at 1/10 mph.
It's like if you were to drive along the freeway and cruise next to another car at the same speed. You could pass something from one car to another even though you are going at highway speeds. And if you speed up slightly you only pull away a little bit.
2007-10-12 20:14:44 · answer #6 · answered by Puzzling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, It just does. It first opens up the docking hatch, grabs it with big robotic arms, and pull it in. It locks the air tight hatch in, and it pumps air into the air lock.
2007-10-12 20:17:15 · answer #7 · answered by Eric X 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋