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Nah, just get them to orbit and then gently nudge them towards the sun. After the cost of getting out of the gravity well, let physics take care of the rest. We
by talmand 11y ago
Nah, just get them to orbit and then gently nudge them towards the sun. After the cost of getting out of the gravity well, let physics take care of the rest. We will need the moon one day, no point in trashing it beforehand.
- hollerith 11y agoDoesn't work that way. It take about 3 times as much delta v to crash something into the sun from low-earth orbit as it does to put it into orbit in the first place. If you gently nudge something in orbit, it will continue to be at risk of crashing into other orbiting thing or falling back to earth. (Of course there's also the fact that it's very unlikely that launching even the most dangerous kinds of wastes into space is a net environmental win.)
- talmand 11y agoHow much more to go from low-earth to the outskirts of orbit where the gentle nudge will work? If we can plan getting a small satellite to land on a moving comet then we should be able to work out the mechanics of plotting a course for a bit of junk to eventually make its way to the sun. Think positive!
- leephillips 11y agoHere are some calculations, and a good explanation, showing why you don't want to try to shoot waste into the Sun: http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/shooting_for_the_sun/ http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/shooting_for_the_sun/
- talmand 11y agoYour link is totally ruining my bit. Nonetheless, interesting article. I guess proposals to the UN will have to wait until technology catches up with my business plan.