When an object is orbiting the Earth, it’s really falling. The trick, described in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. There are several different kinds of orbits, and they are good for different reasons. From suborbital jumps to geostationary orbit, time to learn everything there is to know about going around and around and around.
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“Orbit” on the Astronomy Cast website, with shownotes and transcript.
And the podcast is also available as a video, as Fraser and Pamela now record Astronomy Cast as part of a Google+ Hangout:
Q: Is there a stable trans-lunar orbit a spacecraft could use to continuously travel between Earth and the Moon? There IS one for Mars, right? What about some day covering the topic of ‘pumping’ an orbit for translunar injection? How that’s done with ion engines? The solar wind? or?