50
votes
Accepted
What is a "standard orbit" in Star Trek?
According to the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual, a 'standard orbit' is a circular orbit approximately 40% of the distance of the radius of the planet from the surface of the planet.
It also ...
- 718k
17
votes
What is a "standard orbit" in Star Trek?
No idea of canonicity, but the old Star Trek Concordance states:
The Enterprise usually takes up standard orbit around a planet;
depending on conditions or needs, this can be a distance of from ...
- 53.7k
15
votes
Why was 'Space Station V' in Low Earth Orbit?
Low Earth orbit is the most efficient place to locate a transfer station.
The greatest difficulty in launching spacecraft is getting them into stable orbits around the Earth. The reason for this is ...
- 102k
15
votes
Accepted
Is Anarres tide-locked?
There is at least one time when Shevek notes Anarres rising in the night sky of Urras:
Over the vague darkness of foliage and the tower of the chapel... a
large, soft radiance. Moonrise, he thought, ...
- 72.1k
13
votes
What is a "standard orbit" in Star Trek?
According to Memory Alpha:
There are several forms of orbit; some of them are referred to by Starfleet personnel with names like "standard orbit" or "high orbit."
This seems to imply that "...
- 15.3k
10
votes
Accepted
Wouldn't orbitals eclipse themselves?
After looking at this more carefully, assuming the orbital is in an Earth-like orbit around a Sun-like star (which seems reasonable), even if the two sides of the orbital were colinear with the star, ...
- 436
9
votes
Why was 'Space Station V' in Low Earth Orbit?
Space Station V hosted a range of facilities including an orbital Hilton Hotel. It was used as a transfer point, sure, but the majority of people on board seem to be tourists (who are presumably ...
- 718k
8
votes
Accepted
Why Didn't Gallifrey Throw Earth Out of Orbit?
Had Gallifrey remained where it re-appeared, it would likely have shredded Earth and the Moon, and possibly sent it careening out of the solar system (or into the Sun).
That said, the same effects ...
- 106k
7
votes
TOS Galileo Seven decaying orbit problem
You didn't misunderstand anything, nor was this an example of sloppy writing. What you're looking at here is an example of an extremely low orbit, presumably less 7km above the planet's surface. At ...
- 718k
6
votes
Identify a short story where two astronauts on an orbiting platform are having a dispute
Sounds like Clarke's "Jupiter Five".
The Satellite in Question (we call it "Amalthea" now) has turned out to be be a giant spaceship built by an extinct alien race, and two rival ...
- 13.7k
6
votes
During the Ganymede attack, why did the destroyed solar mirrors/panels immediately start to fall?
One answer would be that the term 'orbital mirror' is a historical generic term like 'tin foil' and 'kleenex'. Foil is no linger made of tin and not all tissue paper is made by Kleenex but the terms ...
- 61
4
votes
Why was 'Space Station V' in Low Earth Orbit?
The transportation model in "2001" consisted of reusable winged shuttles from ground to a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) station, then transferring to LEO-to-lunar-surface shuttles.
This kind of model was ...
- 53.7k
3
votes
During the Ganymede attack, why did the destroyed solar mirrors/panels immediately start to fall?
I haven't read the books, but one possibility could be that the mirrors were too low to be in geosynchronous orbit. They therefore require constant thrust to remain over the same spot on the ground, ...
- 181
3
votes
What is a "standard orbit" in Star Trek?
In the English language an orbit is:
orbit noun (2)
Definition of orbit (Entry 2 of 3)
1a: a path described by one body in its revolution about another (as by the earth about the sun or ...
- 43k
3
votes
Accepted
During the Ganymede attack, why did the destroyed solar mirrors/panels immediately start to fall?
The book, Caliban's War, doesn't shed more light (heh) on the issue.
The mirrors do, as you assume, orbit Ganymede. At least: Almost every time they're brought up in the book, they're called "orbital ...
- 16.5k
3
votes
Why is the Starkiller Base a snow planet?
It originally didn't get much sunlight
Later materials identify Starkiller Base as having been built out of the planet Ilum, the planet used by the Jedi for their lightsaber crystals, which had ...
- 27.3k
2
votes
Why do Star Trek vessels always approach each other on parallel planes?
Stellar navigation usually requires a fixed point of reference. When planes navigate the surface of the earth is that reference. In space one possible affixed point of reference is the galactic center ...
- 2,570
1
vote
During the Ganymede attack, why did the destroyed solar mirrors/panels immediately start to fall?
It seems obvious: misunderstood orbital mechanics. There is no way the mirrors would fall on a colony directly below. Any orbital destruction in orbit would have created a ring of debris around the ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible