Posted on 02/28/2017 3:12:42 PM PST by jazusamo
Seems she’s brighter than you think. (Or she reads Robert Heinlein.) The Moon has a very shallow gravity well; it’s relatively easy to launch things from. I’ll grant it’s a fairly complex mathematical problem to launch a rock from the Moon and so it will impact a specific spot on Earth, but hardly insolvable.
We all laughed at Al Gore when he started with similarly ridiculous statements. Who now has a quarter billion $ more than you or I? Maybe she’s on to something here, have the oscar and Noble committees been notified?
Yup - there’s a NASA white paper on it from just a few years back.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110007073.pdf
It should also be mentioned that the Chinese have recently conceived an interest in setting up a lunar colony. With a mass driver return system. They aren’t interested in returning to the moon for any PR value, they’re going there with serious intent.
LOL, are we getting another ‘Hank Johnsonesque’ moment?
Yep ... up the Moon's gravity well, and then down Earth's. By the time they hit, they're moving at ludicrous speed. Lunar terrorists wouldn't have to aim for specific cities; random bombardment would be nasty enough.
I asked mod to pull it....it sounded better than it looked
I am by no means a scientist, but I would think because the Moons gravitational field is considerable less than Earth’s it would take less effort to launch an object and with some guidance direct it towards Earth. Once Earth’s gravitational takes over such an object could obtain quite a bit of inertia and once again with guidance it may end up in an undesirable location and do quite a bit of damage, especially if it happens to have an explosive payload. But once again as stated earlier I am not a scientist, and no doubt there are many Freepers who could contradict this.
LOL that is funny!!!
“Brianna Wu is a man whose real name is John Flynt.
What a total nut.”
That IS nuts. I figured Brianna was a morph from Brian. Why wouldn’t she use Joanna or something else similar to John? That’s just crazy!
China establishing a base or SpaceX establishing a base on the moon is a bfd. China is easier to deal with because we can nuke them if needed. A corporate entity or independent colony of (insert flavor of the month) terrorists not so easy to handle.
An electromagnetic rail gun (or Trebuchet) could easily chunk rocks at earth.
The Moon’s Gravity Well is so much smaller than the Earth’s.
Hitting a specific target is another matter, unless your rock has terminal guidance.
:-)
I am one ... the only quibbles I have with your post are:
1) It's a fairly complex calculation to hit a particular target on Earth, with a fairly narrow launch window.
2) I wouldn't bother with an explosive payload. Kinetic energy will be enough. Make your projectile dense and strong, so it doesn't break up on hitting atmosphere. You want it to hit ground.
Again ... this is easier said than done, but hardly impossible. The Moon colonists would have their own vulnerabilities, but they would also hold the high ground.
On another note, I do not dispute that "Brianna Wu" is a nutjob.
Brought to you by the party of “settled science” LOL
A “rock” from orbit killed off the dinosaurs....
You stole my thunder heh ...
"She"?
What’s to prevent a government from doing that? Why is it a danger just because it’s private industry? Has she ever heard of Skylab?
On February 5, 1971 Allan Sheppard hit two golf balls on the lunar surface.
On February 9, 1971 a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the San Fernando valley.
Coincidence? I think not!
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