On 24 November 2021 the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft was launched. Its mission is to assess the ability of an impact to deflect the path of an asteroid. DART was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket. At launch a Falcon rocket has a mass of 555 000 kg and generates a force of 7.6 x 106 N. A. Neglecting the effect of gravity, what is the initial acceleration of the rocket? Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures. B. Assuming that the initial acceleration remains constant, how fast will the rocket be moving after 2 seconds? C. In practice, as the rocket
On 24 November 2021 the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft was launched. Its mission is to assess the ability of an impact to deflect the path of an asteroid. DART was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket.
At launch a Falcon rocket has a mass of 555 000 kg and generates a force of 7.6 x 106 N.
A. Neglecting the effect of gravity, what is the initial acceleration of the rocket? Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures.
B. Assuming that the initial acceleration remains constant, how fast will the rocket be moving after 2 seconds?
C. In practice, as the rocket burns fuel, its mass decreases. Assuming the thrust remains the same, how would your answer to part (ii) change? Would the speed after 2 seconds be lower, the same or higher?
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