• Chocrates@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I guess technically, but Kelly is talking about an aircraft which implies the craft is still in atmosphere and therefore Mach can still be calculated.

      • EdgeOfToday@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        The original thread was started by Neil deGrasse Tyson saying that Maverick would be “splattered” during ejection at mach 10. Scott Kelly responds saying he went on a space walk from the ISS at mach 25. The gardener is technically right that mach numbers don’t really apply in a near vacuum. It’s also kind of off topic because we know the Darkstar is in the atmosphere and not in space, and therefore there is no “re-entry”. But Scott is right that the real issue would be heat and not getting splattered.

        I also want to point out that we don’t actually see Maverick eject, and it’s likely that he would have been ejected in a capsule (like in several real aircraft like the B-58) rather than just thrown out of the plane in his pressure suit as Scott suggests.

      • mortadelo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yes, but the gardener guy is specifically talking about the ISS flying in a vacuum. So he is not wrong. I find the comment of that Bruno dude just condescending.

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Do they actually calculate mach that way when they say a plane can go mach 3? Or do they just use the speed of sound at 1 atm?

    • IDatedSuccubi@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It is calculated according to the speed of sound at the altitude you’re in, and measured using a difference of pressure in the pitot tube.