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> For example in the JJ Abrams movie Star Trek Into Darkness we see the Enterprise operating at depth in an ocean, then dramatically zooming away into space. S

• cardiffspaceman 5y ago
  What about a craft like the space shuttle? You have it powered through the atmosphere by a set of powerful rocket engines. The forces on its hull while it is accelerated through the Atmosphere by rocket engines or gravity would seem to be analyzable as atmospheres of pressure. So the Enterprise and Bessie both need to be designed for more atmospheres than 1.0, due to the fact that both ships encounter gaseous environments while under acceleration.
  • vladTheInhaler 5y ago
    What your're talking about is called the max q condition[1]. It's definitely a significant design consideration, but I believe that the loading would very different when the rocket is plowing through the air in a particular direction, compared to an "equivalent" hydrostatic stress applied uniformly over the surface, so even though the structure might be fine with the first, it wouldn't survive the second. For instance, think about corrugated or honeycomb materials - they often have a "strong" orientation and a "weak" orientation. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_q https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_q