Editing 2461: 90's Kid Space Program

{{comic
| number    = 2461
| date      = May 10, 2021
| title     = 90's Kid Space Program
| image     = 90s_kid_space_program.png
| titletext = NASA may not want to admit it, but at this point they ARE the 90's Kid Space Program.
}}

==Explanation==
The "launch system" is just one of the {{w|Eye popper|rubber popper toys}} popular in the 1990s. These toys are little rubber hemispheres, about 1" (25 mm) in diameter and 1/8" (3 mm) thick. When turned inside-out and placed on a hard surface, they will, after a short wait, snap back to their original shape, popping up into the air. The joke is that kids who grew up with these toys will think they're a great idea to propel a space ship to orbit, when in fact the toys launch at mere tens of kilometers per hour, far short of the thousands needed to reach {{w|orbital speed}}{{citation needed}}. But now kids playing with these are those that make rockets, hence the title 90's Kid Space Program (KSP).

Even if the popper-based propulsion system could generate enough acceleration to reach orbit, the abrupt impulse would likely cause serious harm to any astronauts.

The title text implies that many working now at {{w|NASA}} were in fact 90's kids. Both categories would include [[Randall]], as he was born in 1984 and previously worked at NASA.

The title is a reference to the {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} (KSP) which has been a [[:Category:Kerbal Space Program|recurring theme]] on xkcd, and it has previously been hinted at that NASA's employees uses this program in [[1244: Six Words]] and [[2204: Ksp 2]]. And also that you learn more about orbital Mechanics by using KSP than from being hired by NASA in [[1356: Orbital Mechanics]].

==Transcript==
:[A command and service module representing the tip of a spacecraft, is attached by four long trusses to four equidistant points on the edge of a giant light green popper (a green "hill" with a round raised edge around it).  The popper is in its inverted configuration, ready to pop. There is a caption beneath the panel:]
:The 90's Kid Space Program prepares for their first orbital launch

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Kerbal Space Program]]
[[Category:Kids]]