Tomahawk
Regular Member
imported post
A bullet has a velocity of say, 800 fps. A spacecraft in low-earth orbit has a velocity of about 25000 fps. So a bullet fired from a spacecraft will simply enter a different orbit from the vehicle it is fired from. If you fire it against your own velocity, the bullet will likely be in an orbit with a lowest point inside the atmosphere, in which case it will re-enter and melt. Whatever's left will hit the ground.
Nothing in space travels in a straight line; everything travels in curved paths. This is because there is always a gravity source nearby pulling on it. A bullet fired from the space shuttle would be in orbit about the earth. If it was fired from Voyager 2, it would be in orbit about the sun, and since Voyager 2 is leaving the solar system, it would be influenced by other stars and by the galactic center.
But since there's no drag, the bullet will keep its kinetic energy essentially forever, unless it runs into something like earth's atmosphere or scores an incredibly lucky hit on another smaller body like a rock or another spacecraft.
And yes, the Soyuz vehicle has a survival shotgun aboard in case they land in the boonies somewhere, which has happened at least twice. The first time the crew spent the night out there until the rescue helicopter was able to find them.
A bullet has a velocity of say, 800 fps. A spacecraft in low-earth orbit has a velocity of about 25000 fps. So a bullet fired from a spacecraft will simply enter a different orbit from the vehicle it is fired from. If you fire it against your own velocity, the bullet will likely be in an orbit with a lowest point inside the atmosphere, in which case it will re-enter and melt. Whatever's left will hit the ground.
Nothing in space travels in a straight line; everything travels in curved paths. This is because there is always a gravity source nearby pulling on it. A bullet fired from the space shuttle would be in orbit about the earth. If it was fired from Voyager 2, it would be in orbit about the sun, and since Voyager 2 is leaving the solar system, it would be influenced by other stars and by the galactic center.
But since there's no drag, the bullet will keep its kinetic energy essentially forever, unless it runs into something like earth's atmosphere or scores an incredibly lucky hit on another smaller body like a rock or another spacecraft.
And yes, the Soyuz vehicle has a survival shotgun aboard in case they land in the boonies somewhere, which has happened at least twice. The first time the crew spent the night out there until the rescue helicopter was able to find them.
