Questions tagged [orbital-mechanics]

Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation. It is a core discipline within space mission design and control.

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48 votes
11 answers
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Why do Star Trek vessels always approach each other on parallel planes?

Space is just open 3D space, right? In Star Trek, ships are always coming from somewhere else: different solar systems, galaxies, etc. However, when they meet, they always seem to be on parallel ...
Peter's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
6k views

How was the crew of the Ares 3 able to successfully get back to the Hermes?

In the first scene of "The Martian" a storm kicks up on the surface of Mars and the crew of the Ares 3 decide to abandon their mission and return to the Hermes. They quickly board the MAV ...
onewho's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
2k views

How long could Miller's Planet remain in orbit [closed]

In Christopher Nolan's movie Interstellar, Miller's Planet is in orbit around a supermassive black hole affectionately (??) called Gargantua. Miller's Planet orbiting Gargantua: It is orbiting "at ...
Jim2B's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
254 views

Space Travel in "Waldo"

Before the "Other World" business starts up Waldo is a hard sf story. I enjoyed reading the description of Waldo's free-fall habitat; given the lack of the computerization, I think it still holds up. ...
Organic Marble's user avatar