An astronaut floating outside of the International Space Station without a jet p

Question

An astronaut floating outside of the International Space Station without a jet pack has become disconnected from her lifeline so there is no quick way to get herself back to the station. Fortunately she has a rivet gun used for equipment repair that shoots small metal objects at a high speed. If she is a distance of 10 m from the station, how long will take her to get back if she shoots her last rivet in the direction directly away from the station? Her mass, with space suit, is 131 kg, the mass of the rivet is 0.03 kg, and the speed of the rivet leaving the gun is 135 m/s.

Explanation / Answer

conserving momentum

0.03 x 135 = 131 x V

V = 0.0309 m/sec

we know that

d = Vxt

10 = 0.039 x t

t = 323.456 sec

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