A YouTuber, "Hitmen Notoriety," claims that space travel is a hoax, citing that plasma thrusters and other propulsion systems cannot work in a vacuum. However, the original creator of a video used by Hitmen Notoriety to support his claim explains that his video was misinterpreted. The creator demonstrates how plasma thrusters work by accelerating heavier gas atoms, not electrons, to generate thrust. He also explains that combustion can occur in space if the combustible material is mixed with oxygen and ignited, creating thrust. The creator further disputes Hitmen Notoriety's claim by referencing Newton's third law, which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, allowing rockets to generate thrust without air. He also shows footage of the International Space Station passing above his head, which can be seen with the naked eye or with the help of an ISS detector app.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Plasma thrusters are a type of propulsion engine that creates thrust using plasma, which is ionized gas.
2. Plasma thrusters work by accelerating ions through electric fields to generate thrust.
3. A YouTube user, Hitmen Notoriety, claims that space travel is a hoax and uses a video to "prove" that plasma thrusters are fake.
4. The user's argument is based on a misunderstanding of how plasma thrusters work and the fact that they do not work in a vacuum.
5. The author of the text uses a Tesla coil to demonstrate that ionized air can create thrust, but not in a vacuum.
6. The author also uses Newton's third law to explain how rockets can generate thrust in space, even without air resistance.
7. The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 408 kilometers.
8. The ISS can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night, and can be tracked using a smartphone app.
9. The Space Shuttle Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo spacecraft to the moon had a total weight of 2.8 million kilograms at launch.
10. The first stage of the Saturn V rocket output 15,000 kilograms per second at supersonic speeds.
11. The Apollo spacecraft reached a speed of seven times the speed of sound after just 2 minutes and 42 seconds of launch.
12. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 62 kilometers, where atmospheric pressure is no longer significant.