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> Hopefully I'm not embarrassing myself with this question, but: Yup, I'm kind of embarrassed :) I forgot that maintaining orbit is just a matter of falling at
by CoastalCoder 3y ago
> Hopefully I'm not embarrassing myself with this question, but:
Yup, I'm kind of embarrassed :) I forgot that maintaining orbit is just a matter of falling at the same pace that the earth is falling away from you.
- flainne 3y ago> maintaining orbit is just a matter of falling at the same pace that the earth is falling away from you Perhaps a better visualization: moving sideways fast enough that you miss the earth? :)
- mmh0000 3y agoIf you've never tried it, I highly recommend playing Kerbel Space Program[1] (it works on Linux, Mac, and Windows!). That game taught me so much about orbital mechanics, which led to rabbit holes of textbooks and videos[2]. The first big lesson KSP taught me was: why, when launching a rocket, you don't just go straight up but, instead, have to lean over pretty aggressively. [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Program/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Progr... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhYqflvJMXc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhYqflvJMXc