3291: Launchpad

Launchpad

|< < Prev #3291 (August 28, 2026)

Title text: It does come at the cost of some launchpad expansions and increased fuel requirements, but that all comes out of the facility's budget.

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Explanation

This is one of 53 incomplete explanations: This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon. You can help by editing the explanation!

This comic is about launching rockets into space. One of the biggest problems that rocket designers face is that the mass of the rocket includes the engines and the fuel they hold, so the power needed to launch the rocket has to lift this as well.

The traditional solution to this problem is multi-stage rockets. A large booster engine handles the initial launch, then that heavy engine, along with its fuel containers, is detached so smaller engines can power further ascent and maneuvering in space.

As usual, a strange twist is done on the typical methodology. Instead of the rocket actually containing rocket engines, the engines are mounted on the launch platform, and by extension, the planet earth itself. While the theory is there, it ignores very literally massive practical problems. The two main issues come from the same underlying fact: The earth has a lot more mass than a typical space rocket.^{[citation needed]} This means that the engines would need to produce gigantic amounts of force, and that's by space rocket standards. Additionally, the structural integrity of the object experiencing the force is of concern, with how much larger the forces would need to be. As well as that, the rocket would be unlikely to actually come off the earth if it was to be somehow moved, as the Earth's gravity would keep it in, and the rocket itself would still need a form of propulsion for space travel anyway, which somewhat defies the purpose.

The title text further ridicules the situation, assuming that the facility's budget will somehow cover the power needed to physically move the Earth. Of course, not only would it be unlikely the company would have the budget to deal with this elaborate scheme, but it is also unlikely there would be enough resources fullstop to generate the power needed to move the Earth. Possibly the faculty is linked in with Beret Guy, which would make the venture more probable given his history of making bizarre things work.

Transcript

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[Two giant twin engines are sitting on the ground pointing upwards, with a pod in between them. A Megan and a Ponytail are to the left of the first one, with a Cueball carrying something to the right of the thruster. Another Cueball is pointing to the pod from the right, talking to another Ponytail, and there is another megan on the right side of the right thruster]

Second Cueball: To reduce the spacecraft´s weight, we´re mounting the engines on the launchpad and having them push the Earth away from the Spacecraft.

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Discussion

This is very similar to a Buttersafe comic where Jolly Octopus pushes the earth away from Saddest Turtle in this very same manner. Xkdvd (talk) 19:34, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

Liquid-fuel cryogenic engines or nuclear pulse propulsion? Either way, this seems an excellent way for Planet Earth to enter the Twilight Zone. 205.175.118.2 20:02, 28 August 2026 (UTC)
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