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> "…meaning no orbital debris is created and no satellite parts hit the ground." How is this possible? Maybe I'm missing something, but the satellite parts hav

• ineedasername 5y ago
  Burned up on entry, rendered down to heat, gas, and ash. Debris would usually be considered chunks of the original, so ash doesn't count. In this context it also means none of that is left in orbit either, which may be the more significant advantage of their procedures.
  • michaelmior 5y ago
    That makes sense. The forces involved are just mindblowing that it would be sufficient to make this happen.
    • ineedasername 5y ago
      Yes, agreed. Getting off the planet is easy. Staying off the planet is harder. As long as you're in the gravity well you are going to crash back down. The trick is to move so fast horizontally that you overshoot your target and keep missing the ground. (I'm pretty sure "miss the ground" is the scientifically accurate term here) Anyway, those speeds are so fast that once you get on course to finally not miss, the friction from even the extremely thin atmosphere, at those speeds, is incredible.
• Gareth321 5y ago
  They burn up.