Blaze@reddthat.com to interestingasfuck@lemm.eeEnglish · 2 months agoA NASA ion engine while under test at the Glenn Research Center. It can propel spacecrafts to speeds of up to 320,000 km per houri.ibb.coimagemessage-square6fedilinkarrow-up14arrow-down10file-text
arrow-up14arrow-down1imageA NASA ion engine while under test at the Glenn Research Center. It can propel spacecrafts to speeds of up to 320,000 km per houri.ibb.coBlaze@reddthat.com to interestingasfuck@lemm.eeEnglish · 2 months agomessage-square6fedilinkfile-text
minus-squareMonkderDritte@feddit.delinkfedilinkarrow-up0·edit-22 months agoNo, that is the time to maximum speed. Maximum speed depends solely on exhaust speed (how fast the particles get accelerated). And no friction in space. Well, almost none. What’s weird is that they say km/h. Space and rocket stuff is usually in m/s.
minus-squarewisha@lemmy.mllinkfedilinkarrow-up1·2 months agoThe grandparent comment is correct. There is no such thing as engine-specific “maximum speed”. If you add more fuel, you can always go faster (until the speed of light).
No, that is the time to maximum speed. Maximum speed depends solely on exhaust speed (how fast the particles get accelerated).
And no friction in space. Well, almost none.
What’s weird is that they say km/h. Space and rocket stuff is usually in m/s.
The grandparent comment is correct. There is no such thing as engine-specific “maximum speed”. If you add more fuel, you can always go faster (until the speed of light).