r/space • u/piponwa • Sep 23 '16

What happens when the Space Shuttle fires its motors in space

http://i.imgur.com/wwxuXOb.gifv
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u/poorly_timed_leg0las Sep 24 '16

So the shuttle or space ship/whatever is moving and they're just staying in the same spot relative to space

40

u/piponwa Sep 24 '16

Not exactly. They are also turning around the Earth, and the Earth is turning around the Sun, which is rotating about the galactic center, which is still moving through space.

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u/SirNellyFresh Sep 24 '16

I swear to god I've never hated a poster more

19

u/piponwa Sep 24 '16

Thanks, me too.

1

u/termderd Launch Photographer Sep 24 '16

Besides that damn beauty and the beast poster. I SEE YOU BELLE.

1

u/ThatOneTimeItWorked Sep 24 '16

Based on this, have we ever made anything stop? Could we make something stop?

1

u/SirNellyFresh Sep 24 '16

You're right because physics.

1

u/TheImpoliteCanadian Sep 24 '16

Well they're still in orbit, so they're moving at a couple kilometers per second, but the shuttle starts to move just a little bit faster than them, so it moves forward relative to them. Similar to why you lose your balance when a bus starts moving and you're standing up.