h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to Move Around in Space - A87862792
Author: Gnomon - U151503

This was well-received in "Gnomon's Guide", so it is time to put it into Peer Review.

Light sails can be used to slow down and move closer to the sun so long as the light is reflected in the direction opposite the tangential orbital velocity of your space vehicle.

This is impeded, though, by solar wind particles (atomic hydrogen, protons, electrons, etc.), as distinct from light.

'opposite' should be 'opposing'.

Destination in "2001, A Space Odyssey" was Jupiter, not Saturn.

Saturn in the book, Jupiter in the film, as I point out.

Quite right regarding 2001.

One question - how about Greenpeace's favourite space travel method: nuclear bombs? If you have a nuclear explosion/pulse behind the vehicle, it will be pushed forward. Worth a mention?

<BB<

I'm not sure it is worth a mention. It is still just a way of pushing high temperature gas out the back.

Mass drivers, tether slingshot systems?

Both are still speculative, having never been used, but are well founded.

A differentiation of different kinds of rockets might be interesting, the most advanced after chemical rockets currently in use being ionic systems.

Orion Drive? Actually has been considered (though is certainly even more tenuous/Sci-Fi than ramscoops)


On slowing down, is it worth pointing out that actually less rocket fuel will be needed, since a rocket will have burnt a large chunk of its original mass in the speeding up process?

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