Is this possible? An astronaut, together with the equipment he carries, has a ma
ID: 1660764 • Letter: I
Question
Is this possible?
An astronaut, together with the equipment he carries, has a mass of 187 kg. He is taking a space walk outside his spacecraft, which is drifting through space with a constant velocity. The astronaut accidentally pushes against the spacecraft and begins moving away at 21.3 m/s, relative to the spacecraft, without a tether. To return, he takes equipment off his space suit and throws it in the direction away from the spacecraft. Because of his bulky space suit, he can throw equipment at a maximum speed of 5.1 m/s relative to himself. After throwing enough equipment, he starts moving back to the spacecraft and is able to grab onto it and climb inside.
(Don't forget to take into account that the space ship is moving
Explanation / Answer
Not possible
by momentum conservation,if the astronaut throws objects away from craft,he will be pushed towards the craft but with very less speed which will be lower than 21.3 m/s .(187*v=mass of objects*5.1),v will be very less .so he will not be able to get back
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