Reply To: Energy Output – MW & GW
The Focus Fusion Society › Forums › Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Experiment (LPPX) › Plan B for Focus Fusion › Reply To: Energy Output – MW & GW
JimmyTA launch velocity equal to the 11.2Km/sec escape velocity means this: Regardless of which way you “point” your launch vehicle, once it gets out of the earth’s gravitational well, its velocity with respect to the earth is zero. Its entire velocity will be dissipated climbing out of the well. That means it is in the same orbital path around the sun as the earth. You still have to further accelerate it or decelerate it to either plunge it into the sun or fling it out of the solar system.
O.K. realistically you are never going to exactly achieve escape velocity so……
Case 1: Launch vehicle is slightly BELOW escape velocity. The object will continue in a very high earth orbit. Slowly orbiting the earth as the earth orbits the sun.
Case 2: launch vehicle is slightly ABOVE escape velocity. The object will slowly drift away from the earth as they both orbit the sun.