r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/InsaneMocktail • Sep 08 '26

Video University of Waterloo Students Launch Rocket Breaking World Record

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u/TamponTimTheCuck Sep 08 '26

So only 19.5%. Wild!

140

u/rex8499 Sep 08 '26

And probably only like 5% of the way to orbit, cuz you got to go sideways very fast as well as up. Space is hard.

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u/randombits0110 Sep 08 '26

More like 0% of the ways to orbit (or incredibly close to it). They went (roughly) straight up... which means you come straight back down.

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u/rex8499 Sep 08 '26

Getting up out of the thickest atmosphere is the first significant part of getting to orbit. Going up is an important element of getting to orbit as far as the total energy that needs to be expended goes.

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u/Additional_Teacher45 Sep 08 '26

The total energy expenditure to first escape the atmosphere and then attain orbital velocity is wildly higher than the energy required to perform both maneuvers at the same time. And that's before we even get into the gravity turn.

Modern rockets are so advanced that they can insert directly into a circular orbit straight from launch with no circularization burn needed. Math is wild shit.