TIL it takes more energy to fire a rocket into the sun than it does to escape the solar system.
This is because it's the difference between having to cancel out Earth's 30 km/s orbital velocity vs o...
If you're really curious look into dynamic soaring. Using a energy front between any two fields to gain speed greater than either using no energy.
RC gliders reaching nearly 900 km/hour by performing dynamic soaring on wind shear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nyYaL0dGAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eFD_Wj6dhk&t=0s
https://youtu.be/SkGRVvA23qI
It scales all the way up! potentially getting an enormous speed boost at each new front...
Slow and Fast Solar Wind
Planetary Magnetosphere Boundary
The termination Shock
Heliopause
Interstellar Medium (ISM)
Galactic Wind Gradients
It's also worked for slowing down
RC gliders reaching nearly 900 km/hour by performing dynamic soaring on wind shear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nyYaL0dGAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eFD_Wj6dhk&t=0s
https://youtu.be/SkGRVvA23qI
It scales all the way up! potentially getting an enormous speed boost at each new front...
Slow and Fast Solar Wind
Planetary Magnetosphere Boundary
The termination Shock
Heliopause
Interstellar Medium (ISM)
Galactic Wind Gradients
It's also worked for slowing down