4 ms·

It would be a pretty good idea if it didn't require such an insane amount of delta-v to deorbit a payload into the sun.

fullstop 5y ago
We just need to lift it there with a space elevator and then nudge it into the sun. And then in a few thousand years we will be kicking ourselves for incinerating incredibly valuable resources.
- shawnz 5y ago
  It's just being converted to solar :)
- NamTaf 5y ago
  It is less delta-V to launch something out of the solar system than it is to drop it into the sun. Assuming you're not worried about nuclear waste leaving our solar system and becoming a problem for others, it makes absolutely no sense to launch it into the sun.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    > becoming a problem for others That seems a bit optimistic of a problem to have. Space is incredibly huge. For someone to accidentaly bump into it would have odds so huge I don't even know how to aproximate it.
- _qwfv 5y ago
  There's no such thing as 'nudging' it into the sun. If you don't push hard enough, it will enter an orbit that coincides with earth's. And to push it hard enough you basically have to get it going away from earth at the speed earth orbits around the sun, which is quite fast. Anything less, and it will be in an orbit that floats close to the sun then floats back up towards earth, more or less forever.
  - fullstop 5y ago
    I think that we're going to need a bigger space elevator, then.
dylan604 5y ago
wouldn't you only need to deorbit if you "missed"? it's not like we're trying to safely land on the surface of the sun. we don't need it slow down at all, just aim straight for the middle and accelerate in.
- Denvercoder9 5y ago
  As Earth is in orbit around the sun, everything launched from Earth automatically is also in orbit around the sun. To go into the sun, you need to deorbit from that orbit. Earth's orbit around the Sun has an orbital speed of about 30 km/s, so you need to cancel that to drop into the sun.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    It doesn't have to get there fast. So what would the effect of putting up solar sails to create some drag to slow down? Wouldn't need heavy fuel to generate delta-v. Would the expense of a system to deploy/unfurl a solar sail cost more than fuel powered thrust?
    - Denvercoder9 5y ago
      Aside from the practical concerns with solar sails, there's a fundamental problem with using them to get to the Sun. To lower your orbit, you need to exert thrust in the retrograde direction (directly opposite to the direction you're going). However, that's perpendicular to the direction of the sunlight you receive, so a solar sail cannot generate any thrust in that direction!
      - Apocryphon 5y ago
        What about using mass drivers instead of chemical rockets?
        Denvercoder9 5y ago
        Theoretically, sure. Practically we've entered science fiction territory here.

We just need to lift it there with a space elevator and then nudge it into the sun. And then in a few thousand years we will be kicking ourselves for incinerating incredibly valuable resources.

shawnz 5y ago
It's just being converted to solar :)
NamTaf 5y ago
It is less delta-V to launch something out of the solar system than it is to drop it into the sun. Assuming you're not worried about nuclear waste leaving our solar system and becoming a problem for others, it makes absolutely no sense to launch it into the sun.
- dylan604 5y ago
  > becoming a problem for others That seems a bit optimistic of a problem to have. Space is incredibly huge. For someone to accidentaly bump into it would have odds so huge I don't even know how to aproximate it.
_qwfv 5y ago
There's no such thing as 'nudging' it into the sun. If you don't push hard enough, it will enter an orbit that coincides with earth's. And to push it hard enough you basically have to get it going away from earth at the speed earth orbits around the sun, which is quite fast. Anything less, and it will be in an orbit that floats close to the sun then floats back up towards earth, more or less forever.
- fullstop 5y ago
  I think that we're going to need a bigger space elevator, then.

dylan604 5y ago

wouldn't you only need to deorbit if you "missed"? it's not like we're trying to safely land on the surface of the sun. we don't need it slow down at all, just aim straight for the middle and accelerate in.

Denvercoder9 5y ago
As Earth is in orbit around the sun, everything launched from Earth automatically is also in orbit around the sun. To go into the sun, you need to deorbit from that orbit. Earth's orbit around the Sun has an orbital speed of about 30 km/s, so you need to cancel that to drop into the sun.
- dylan604 5y ago
  It doesn't have to get there fast. So what would the effect of putting up solar sails to create some drag to slow down? Wouldn't need heavy fuel to generate delta-v. Would the expense of a system to deploy/unfurl a solar sail cost more than fuel powered thrust?
  - Denvercoder9 5y ago
    Aside from the practical concerns with solar sails, there's a fundamental problem with using them to get to the Sun. To lower your orbit, you need to exert thrust in the retrograde direction (directly opposite to the direction you're going). However, that's perpendicular to the direction of the sunlight you receive, so a solar sail cannot generate any thrust in that direction!
    - Apocryphon 5y ago
      What about using mass drivers instead of chemical rockets?
      - Denvercoder9 5y ago
        Theoretically, sure. Practically we've entered science fiction territory here.