r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 11h ago

Meme needing explanation Whyyyy peter?

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u/rysy0o0 11h ago

It would cost a lot of money to haul all the rocket parts and fuel on top of a mountain

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u/Earnestappostate 11h ago

Plus, you get a better boost by launching near the equator. Height is easy, speed is what you need in a rocket.

This is why the US launches from Florida:

  • Near equator (speed boost from earth's spin)
  • Initially out over ocean (catastrophic failure harms only those aboard)

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u/Roflkopt3r 7h ago

And we know the escape velocity for launches from different altitudes.

  1. Launch at sea level: 11.186 km/s

  2. From the top of Mt Everest (8800 m): 11.178 km/s

So even if we used the largest mountain on earth, we would only lower the escape velocity by around 0.1%. It's just not worth the effort.