1461: Payloads - Revision history

162.158.193.239: /* Tables */

2025-04-01T05:12:46Z

‎Tables

172.71.218.215 at 22:23, 9 March 2025

2025-03-09T22:23:10Z

Firestar233: made large tables collapsed

2025-02-16T05:58:51Z

made large tables collapsed

Firestar233: changed the links to the references, because there are a lot of links and it seems appropriate

2025-02-16T05:49:44Z

changed the links to the references, because there are a lot of links and it seems appropriate

Show changes

Firestar233 at 05:32, 16 February 2025

2025-02-16T05:32:11Z

42.book.addict at 17:22, 1 November 2024

2024-11-01T17:22:16Z

FaviFake: Fixed literally al the links cause they were ALL BROKEN

2023-06-27T09:14:33Z

Fixed literally al the links cause they were ALL BROKEN

Show changes

FaviFake at 08:37, 27 June 2023

2023-06-27T08:37:40Z

SilverTheTerribleMathematician: /* Explanation */

2022-12-16T13:58:08Z

‎Explanation

Green: Undoing vandalism

2022-05-26T19:35:39Z

Undoing vandalism

Show changes

@@ Line 121: / Line 121: @@
 |129,700
 |-
-|T-Rex
+|{{w|T-Rex}}
 |N/A
 |15

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:23, 9 March 2025
Line 577:		Line 577:
	[[Category:Mars rovers]]		[[Category:Mars rovers]]
	[[Category:Rockets]]		[[Category:Rockets]]
		+	[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ===Tables===
 <!--The tables below contain data relating to each entry on the comic image.
@@ Line 40: / Line 41: @@
 {|
-|- style="vertical-align:top;"
+|- style="vertical-align:top;" class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
+|
 {| class="wikitable sortable"

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The title text refers to a favourite subject of Randall's - The {{w|space elevator}}. A space elevator is a (currently theoretical) mechanism for travelling into space, consisting of a very long (>35,000&nbsp;km) cable and counterweight connected to the Earth at the equator. The cable rotates at the same rate as the earth, and thus appears stationary when viewed from earth. It is then possible to climb the cable into space, and even use it as a slingshot to launch vehicles.
-In the title text, the amount of power required to lift a horse into space has been investigated, with the launch capacity of a backyard solar array and large power station compared. The orbit to launch horses is not precised, though; from the space elevator, the only circular orbit easily achievable is geostationary orbit, and getting into Low Earth Orbit is only slightly easier than without the elevator. Assuming the lowest stable orbit (that is, above the atmosphere), required power output of the solar array is about 315-350&nbsp;kW and the power station at 3.3-3.7&nbsp;GW.
+In the title text, the amount of power required to lift a horse into space has been investigated, with the launch capacity of a backyard solar array and large power station compared. The orbit to launch the horses into is not specified, though; from the space elevator, the only circular orbit easily achievable is geostationary orbit, and getting into Low Earth Orbit is only slightly easier than without the elevator. Assuming the lowest stable orbit (that is, above the atmosphere), required power output of the solar array is about 315-350&nbsp;kW and the power station at 3.3-3.7&nbsp;GW.
 ===Tables===
-The tables below contain data relating to each entry on the comic image.
+<!--The tables below contain data relating to each entry on the comic image.
 *Name - Should be as shown in the comic
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 *Mass/payload (kg) - Independently researched value
-Where the researched launch date or mass/payload don't seem to match the comic, they should be identified with <sup>?</sup>
+Where the researched launch date or mass/payload don't seem to match the comic, they should be identified with <sup>?</sup>-->
 {|
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 !Spacecraft
 !Launch date <sup>''{{w|ISO 8601}}''</sup>
-!Mass (horses)
+!Mass from comic (horses)
-!Mass (kg)
+!Mass from spacecraft specifications (kg)
 |-
 |{{w|Sputnik 1|Sputnik}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/s/sputnik1.html]</sup>
@@ Line 231: / Line 231: @@
 !Spacecraft
 !Launch date <sup>''{{w|ISO 8601}}''</sup>
-!Payload (horses)
+!Payload mass from comic (horses)
-!Payload (kg)
+!Payload mass from specifications (kg)
 |-
 |{{w|Sputnik (rocket)|Sputnik Launcher}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/s/sputnik8k71ps.html]</sup>

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:22, 1 November 2024
Line 572:		Line 572:
	[[Category:Telescopes]]		[[Category:Telescopes]]
	[[Category:Mars rovers]]		[[Category:Mars rovers]]
		+	[[Category:Rockets]]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | titletext = With a space elevator, a backyard full of solar panels could launch about 500 horses per year, and a large power plant could launch 10 horses per minute.
 }}
+*A larger version of the image can be found [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/payloads_large.png here].
 ==Explanation==

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 There are also several joke insertions:
-*T-Rex - A dinosaur, but fairly unlikely to be found orbiting Earth.
+*T-Rex - A dinosaur, but fairly unlikely to be found orbiting Earth.{{Citation needed}}
 *Pegasus - An actual {{w|Pegasus (rocket)|launch vehicle}}, but also the name of a {{w|Pegasus|mythical flying stallion}}. The payload is given as "one Pegasus", which comes out to be slightly less than "one horse".
 *Atlas-Centaur - Again, an actual {{w|Atlas-Centaur|launch vehicle}}, but also a reference to the half-human half-horse creatures of Greek mythology. The payload is given in "centaurs", which come out to be slightly more than "horses".