*The earth rotates surprisingly quickly* Not so much the earth as ISS. The earth... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		rgbrenner on April 13, 2015 \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: SpaceX CRS-6 Launch Webcast The earth rotates surprisingly quickly Not so much the earth as ISS. The earth rotates at 24900mi/day or about 1040mph. The ISS, to maintain its orbit, travels at 17150mph or about 5 miles per second. So in two minutes, it travels about 600 miles.

ohazi on April 13, 2015 [–]

Yeah, but the window is short because you have to catch the orbital plane, not the ISS itself. Earth's rotation speed is the relevant number here for figuring out how fast that plane sweeps across the sky.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact