r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/chirantaniga • 4d ago

Meme needing explanation Whyyyy peter?

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u/rysy0o0 4d 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 4d 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/MentalPlectrum 4d ago

Yes, but also there are equatorial mountains... checkmate rocket scientists!

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u/ADHDebackle 4d ago

Which also gives you more speed than sea level at the equator.

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u/thepkizzle 4d ago

The speed boost between Nepal and Florida is very minimal, but then the height difference is also very minimal because the equator is a mountain. How different? South Florida is .1% "shorter" than Everest and only about .5% rotationally faster. That's significant to be sure but it's more a product of "having both."

Neither are that important in a vacuum, the ease of getting supplies into a coastal location and launching east over the water is the real strategic reason.

If the location really truly mattered and if rotation was that important than we would be launching from Alacantra, Brazil, which is only like .06% shorter than Everest, but 13.7% faster rotationally, and 13.1% faster than Florida. The rotational speed is important, but everywhere on earth is moving but the further north or south you go the speed becomes more and more apparent with places in Florida being 40% faster than many parts of northern Canada. Nepal is actually really close to the equator.