Talk:2534: Retractable Rocket

However it is done, note that the base of the 'first stage' extends/retracts in advance of the bit further up, as can be seen by the panelling position in the standing/extending/extended/retracted frame-sequence. Which might be worth noting if you're wanting to copy the technology. 172.70.85.185 03:09, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

I think this might be theoretically possible, ignoring the apparently topological outer skin of the "rocket", with some kind of steerable space fountain. Accelerating the astronauts at 10g for about two minutes might be survivable, and could limit the overall length to just over 800 miles. Though the shroud only has to extend to where the atmosphere is "sufficiently" thin. No idea whether this kind of design would tend to fall over when finished or not. -- Ken g6 (talk) 04:24, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

If (as it appears) the Bot created the page with various references to "Retractible" rarher than "Retractable", does this mean Randall made that error initially? (I say this as the guy who failed to notice he'd put "resuable" in his Transcript edit. ;) ) 172.70.162.129 03:54, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Looks like yep, Randall originally made that error persistently, as the image here still has "retractible" in the comic, but the image on xkcd.com has been updated. Not sure how this is usually handled, I think it's mentioned in the FAQ.

Edit: okay, I've uploaded the new image, and added a trivia bit about the original. No idea how to update the page URL, that'll have to be someone else. Esogalt (talk) 04:02, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

In my own opinion I think this is actually a brilliant idea, if you think outside the box. Imagine those floppy noodle blow up baloons they use at car dealerships and the like. Now replace the continuous membrane with a membrane combined with multiple stages of internal baffles that can collapse and move around vertically, and scale the whole thing up. Now think about a straw. What if we engineered a straw that reaches all the way to the target (and then back into the atmosphere), and inflate it? we could have [1] the ThothX tower but that is a stacked kevlar cell system that only reaches 12 miles in height. The weight is not truly supported by the air, but rather by the tensile strength of the membranes. The question is how much air we'd need to move and how big would it need to be to function. 172.69.69.182 04:45, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Is there a compelling reason to refer to the countdown as spoken by "Tannoy" rather than "PA" or "Loudspeaker" or something? I had to look up what that was. Esogalt (talk) 05:09, 28 October 2021 (UTC)