zlacker

>>Apocry+(OP)
I think I need to become far more informed about these matters as this is rather surprising to read.

I’ve been watching Russia toddle about with their “second best in the world” equipment, demonstrating how difficult it can be. And now I’m reading that Houthi rebels have missiles that can make it outside some meaningful definition of “atmosphere”?

Maybe I’m failing to understand how modern military rocketry works.

>>Waterl+n4
It’s not as impressive as it sounds. Weather balloons go up pretty high too. Making a rocket go straight up into space and comes down again in a ballistic trajectory is relatively easy compared to making one that goes to orbit. This is the same kind of headline that Bezos was generating when he landed a rocket from “space” - up but not around.

>>zarzav+I5
Weather Ballons can't go beyond the atmosphere because they utilize the differential in density between the atmosphere outside the balloon and the gas inside.

>>Wester+f8
The point is to illustrate the difference between going up and down, vs going into orbit (going sideways). Weather balloons go up many kilometers but they don’t go into orbit. They just go up and down. A ballistic missile, sounding rocket, or bezos pod does the same thing with a little more oomph.

Making a rocket that only goes up 100km into space and then falls immediately down again is hardly brain surgery.