• Rimu@piefed.social
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    1 month ago

    To go there in 30 days you’d need to disregard any orbital mechanics and just burn straight there. This would require an extraordinary amount of energy. Also surely making plasma from an electrical current must require, again, an extraordinary amount of energy. Also the faster you accelerate the more fuel you need to expend to DE-cellerate when you get there.

    I dunno man, seems like bullshit. I’m no rocket scientist, obvs. But at a gut-feel level, this seems way off.

    • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Ok. And? Even if they don’t have an appropriate power source yet, still cool to have built the engine.

  • Baggins@piefed.social
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    1 month ago

    The article says 30-60 days.

    So possibly twice as long as the first estimate. Bit of a difference there.

    • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      You do realize Mars and Earth do not orbit the sun at the same rate? When the ship launches will affect the distance to travel.

  • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    This post is clearly being brigaded by anti-Russia accounts. Space fans wouldn’t be so obsessive in their nationalism that they forget Russia’s space capabilities.

    • Bimfred@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The average velocity across the entire trip would have to be several hundred km/s. Average. Peak velocity would have to be a lot higher, to account for acceleration and deceleration. They’re claiming to have built a torch drive that beats the thrust power of all other (currently existing or in early development) propulsion methods by an order of magnitude. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

      • surph_ninja@lemmy.world
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        30 days ago

        Yes, they should show not tell. But this wouldn’t be Russia’s first space travel breakthrough by a long shot. I wouldn’t jump to disbelief so readily.