Editing 2534: Retractable Rocket

Of course, it would not be possible to extend anything this far.{{Citation needed}} The top would need to be moving very fast compared to the bottom part, or it would bend westwards and break, and even with the strongest material a fully extended, very thin, presumably, hollow structure with a payload on top would {{w|buckling|buckle}} very soon after extension began. Also, the ISS moves at 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph) compared to the ground under it, making an orbit in about one and a half hours. So making the tip follow this long enough to dock would be even more impossible.  

Of course, it would not be possible to extend anything this far.{{Citation needed}} The top would need to be moving very fast compared to the bottom part, or it would bend westwards and break, and even with the strongest material a fully extended, very thin, presumably, hollow structure with a payload on top would {{w|buckling|buckle}} very soon after extension began. Also, the ISS moves at 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph) compared to the ground under it, making an orbit in about one and a half hours. So making the tip follow this long enough to dock would be even more impossible.  

The current method of sending rockets into space requires huge amounts of fuel, and the more fuel you attempt to carry, the heavier the rocket, leading to more fuel being required, etc. ({{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}}), which makes the current method inefficient.  Alternate methods are being explored, such as using a slingshot ({{w|SpinLaunch}} had a successful test flight of a smaller scale launcher just days before this comic was published, probably the influence for this comic), theoretical {{w|space elevators}}, or this comic's impossible retractable rocket idea, all of which would leave the majority of the "fuel" requirements on Earth or elsewhere rather than having to carry heavy fuel with the rocket.  The only fuel carried might be minimal amounts for course adjustments once in space rather than large amounts used to get there.  However, many of these methods are less flexible than rockets; the space elevator, for instance, operates on the basis of constant angular velocity relative to the Earth's axis of rotation, meaning that it cannot launch payloads directly into low-earth orbit, polar orbits, or many other orbits frequently used by satellites for their desirable characteristics, and satellites intended for these orbits might still need to carry considerable amounts of fuel, even if less than that required to launch directly from the ground.

The current method of sending rockets into space requires huge amounts of fuel, and the more fuel you attempt to carry, the heavier the rocket, leading to more fuel being required, etc. ({{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}}), which makes the current method inefficient.  Alternate methods are being explored, such as using a slingshot ({{w|SpinLaunch}} had a successful test flight of a smaller scale launcher just days before this comic was published, probably the influence for this comic), theoretical {{w|space elevators}}, or this comic's impossible retractable rocket idea, all of which would leave the majority of the "fuel" requirements on Earth or elsewhere rather than having to carry heavy fuel with the rocket.  The only fuel carried might be minimal amounts for course adjustments once in space rather than large amounts used to get there.  However, many of these methods are less flexible than rockets; the space elevator, for instance, operates on the basis of constant angular velocity relative to the Earth's axis of rotation, meaning that it cannot launch payloads directly into low-earth orbit, polar orbits, or many other orbits frequently used by satellites for their desirable characteristics, and satellites intended for these orbits might still need to carry considerable amounts of fuel, even if less than that required to launch directly from the ground.