Liberal Free Chat Zone

[basserdan]

Incredible picture of the recent Atlas V launch from 3,000 feet at Cape Canaveral. Look how the color of the contrail changes the higher the rocket goes.



This is a great illustration how rockets don't go "straight up" to reach orbit. If they did, they would run out of fuel and eventually plummet back to earth. To enter orbit, a rocket begins to tilt onto its side at first, and gradually increases this tilt until it achieves an elliptical orbit around Earth. This technique of optimizing the trajectory of a spacecraft so that it attains the desired path is called a gravity turn.

https://www.facebook.com/paul.dellegattofox/photos/a.164395890286756/3895375910522050/?type=3