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Originally Posted by BigV
Hmmm would five earth masses equal five times earth gravity?
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The planet is 2G. Five times the mass, but it's also bigger, so the surface is further from the center of mass.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMercenary
Nuke powered. I remember when they talked about trying to make a shuttle or some other space craft and they dropped it after concerns about showering the atmosphere with radiation if it broke up on re-entry or take-off.
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A fission engine in space would operate very differently from one in a submarine. You still need some sort of reaction mass to throw out the back. Cassini has a nuclear power source, but it just uses the radioactive decay to power electronics. I'm pretty sure it uses standard chemical engines for steering.