Tag: ISS

Why is the International Space Station not in a circular orbit?

Why is the International Space Station not in a circular orbit? The International Space Station is in a circular orbit around a globe called Earth. But if you try to stretch the globe out to flat map it looks like a sine wave pattern. This flat earth map is probably why you’re thinking it’s not a circular orbit. Below the image here is an animation of what’s really happening.

Because of the inclination of the orbit, the space station never actually goes over either pole. So in the sine wave image above you’ll see it seems to curve away from the poles. Below you can see how the ISS travels around the globe to produce an orbit on a flat map like above.

Is it possible to mitigate the extreme gravity of a large planet with an appropriate orbiting space station?

Would it be possible to orbit at just the right altitude and speed to make Jupiter’s gravity ‘feel’ like earths?

 In any orbit, around any planet, you’re going to be in micro-gravity. You will “feel” weightless because essentially you are falling around the planet in an orbital trajectory.

Just like astronauts on the ISS float around their space station, an astronaut orbiting Jupiter would also float around his or her space craft. It matters not how far away from the surface the space craft is as long as it is orbiting above significant atmospheric drag.

In theory, by having a wheel shaped craft that spins slowly, just like in the movies, you could achieve 1G.

 

 

Would it be possible to put a person on the moon for a prolonged period of time?

We are too heavily influenced by science fiction writers, movies and XBox to see it for what it is.

Space. The final frontier.

One day in our futures humans will travel to other planets, terraform them and colonize them. We will spread out and our species will survive, even if our own sun blows up. We have to start somewhere. We’ve been to the moon once. Let’s go again. Let’s live on the moon.

That would be very difficult. We would need a way to supply our moon resident with food, water and food. Perhaps it could be as we do now with the International Space station (ISS), i.e. fly up supplies once in awhile.

The problem is that the ISS is in low Earth orbit at 249 miles above mean sea level. The moon, on the other hand is between 225,623 miles at it’s closest, and 248,855 miles at it’s farthest, and is moving away from Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches per year. The moon is more than 906 times further than the ISS.

Taken distances into consideration, I would say it is not practical to have a living human being on the Moon for an extended period of time unless he could somehow grow his own food, and get oxygen and water locally.

We are too heavily influenced by science fiction writers, movies and XBox to see it for what it is. Hopeless.

The answer to your question, sadly, is no.

Man-on-the-moon