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Why does the entire spacecraft have to go up at once? Also, why does the entire spacecraft have to go down?
by DannoHung 15y ago
Why does the entire spacecraft have to go up at once? Also, why does the entire spacecraft have to go down?
- shasta 15y agoYa, you should swing by the space station and pick up your lead shielding on the way out, drop it back off on the way home.
- Zaak 15y agoIt doesn't. However, the more launches required to assemble your spacecraft, the more chances there are for something to go wrong.
- Ralith 15y agoThat's a silly argument. You could just as well say that the more things you launch that aren't a passenger-loaded vehicle, the more likely you'll have worked out the glitches by the time large numbers of lives depend on it.
- Zaak 15y agoA mission to Mars is guaranteed to be the most complex space mission ever attempted. Every additional rocket you need for the mission adds complexity. Complexity is the enemy of reliability. What happens to your Mars departure window when the rocket carrying your life support system goes off course and is destroyed by the range safety officer?
- waterlesscloud 15y agoGood point, and would that would take care of the gravity well aspect of the issue. You'd still have the same amount of mass to accelerate, though. I suppose that wouldn't be as much of an issue once you weren't fighting Earth's gravity as well as inertia.