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Rocket propulsion functions in space because of universal physical laws, no air required

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The claim: Propulsion can’t work in a vacuum, so space travel isn’t real

Some proponents of flat earth theory – the erroneous idea that Earth is flat instead of a globe – also claim that space isn’t real, sometimes based on errant assumptions about vacuum chambers and launch sites.

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Another iteration of this claim is spreading in an Instagram post that shows two stacked images – a photo of a fighter jet and an artist’s rendering of a spacecraft. 

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“A jet propels off air. A spaceship propels off CGI,” reads the meme. The reference to “CGI” or “computer-generated imagery” apparently suggests that photos of spacecraft traveling in space have been digitally generated. 

The meme’s caption in the Nov. 11 Instagram post makes the point more directly.

“There must be an external medium to have an opposite reaction – Propulsion in a vacuum is insanely absurd,” it reads.  

The post garnered more than 1,000 likes in less than three weeks.

But it is wrong. Propulsion functions in both Earth’s atmosphere and in space because of the physical laws governing motion in the universe. Propulsion occurs when an engine produces a force called “thrust,” which pushes a rocket or fighter jet in the opposite direction. Though many jet engines do make use of air in their propulsion system, air is not necessary for propulsion.

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USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the claim for comment.

Rockets don’t need air to ‘propel off’

Contrary to the claim made in the post, an “external medium” is not necessary for propulsion to occur, reports All About Space Magazine. 

“Rockets generate a force in one direction, called thrust, by the principle of action and reaction,” reads the article. “Exhaust fumes released by explosive chemicals are pushed out of the back of the rocket at high speed, and as a result, the rocket is pushed in the other direction, regardless of any surrounding medium.” 

This works because of physical laws that govern motion in the universe, according to an online NASA primer on rocket function. Issac Newton’s third law of motion is particularly relevant to understanding the function of rocket engines.

This law states that “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” reads the primer. “In the case of rockets, the action is the force produced by the expulsion of gas, smoke, and flames from the nozzle end of a rocket engine. The reaction force propels the rocket in the opposite direction.” 

Many jet engines use air to facilitate the explosive reactions that create propulsion, according to NASA. To create thrust in the relative vacuum of space, rocket engines use a slightly different strategy. 

When rockets travel into space, they bring everything they need to function with them, reports Discover Magazine. 

“On board any rocket – a chemical rocket, that is – is a fuel tank, an oxidizer tank, and something to spark an explosive reaction in the combustion chamber,” reads the article. 

Other rockets use hypergolic fluids, which react with each other to create the required explosive force, according to the magazine. 

Fact check: Astronauts train in vacuum chambers to prepare for life in space

Evidence that space travel is real includes the development of a space tourism industry, physical samples retrieved from Earth’s moon and photos of spacecraft and people in space.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that propulsion can’t work in a vacuum, so space travel isn’t real. Rocket engines function by creating thrust, which moves the spacecraft in the opposite direction. This process works in a vacuum. Air or another “external medium” is not required. 

Our fact-check sources:

  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, Rocket Thrust
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, Rocket Propulsion
  • Union University, September 2002, How does a rocket work in space where there is no air to push against?
  • The Guardian, Feb. 7, 2021, Readers reply: how do spacecraft manoeuvre in the vacuum of space?
  • Discover Magazine, Feb. 25, 2018, Yes, Rockets CAN Fly in a Vacuum
  • Live Science, May 26, How do space rockets work without air?
  • Space.com, July 7, 2020, What are Newton’s laws of motion?
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, Basics of space flight
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, How rockets work
  • All About Space Magazine, June 30, 2021, How rockets work: A complete guide
  • Encyclopaedia Brittanica, accessed Nov. 23, Issac Newton
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, Newton’s Laws of Motion
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 23, How does a jet engine work?
  • BBC Science Focus, accessed Nov. 23, Is space a perfect vacuum?
  • NASA, accessed Nov. 22, Lunar rocks and soils from Apollo missions
  • USA TODAY, Feb. 15, How much is a seat on Virgin Galactic? $450,000. Here’s what each trip includes
  • Space.com, Feb. 6, 2020, In pictures: The most memorable spacewalks in history
  • ESA, accessed Nov. 27, Image Archive: Spacecraft
  • Scientific American, March 27, 2020, Flat Earthers: What They Believe and Why
  • USA TODAY, Nov. 23, Fact check: Astronauts train in vacuum chambers to prepare for life in space
  • USA TODAY, Nov. 21, Fact check: Launch sites on the Earth and moon require different materials

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

Launch of the maiden voyage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Artemis I mission launched at 1:47 a.m. Wednesday morning, Nov. 16, 2022, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B. Launch viewed from Harbortown Marina on Merritt Island. The last quarter of the full moon is visible in the sky.

Spectators at Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville for the 1:44 a.m. launch of Artemis 1 from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The uncrewed mission will last a planned 26 days.

NASA’s Artemis I lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

Spectators at Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville for the 1:44 a.m. launch of Artemis 1 from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022. The uncrewed mission will last a planned 26 days.

NASA’s Artemis I lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

At Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville, 8-year-old Daniel Zeballos was suited for the Artemis 1 launch at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022. The uncrewed mission will last a planned 26 days.

Spectators watch the launch and river light up at Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville for the Artemis 1 mission from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022. The uncrewed mission will last a planned 26 days.

NASA’s Artemis I lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

NASA’s Artemis I lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

The Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket sits on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center before launch on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. – NASA will make a second attempt to launch its powerful new Moon rocket after scrubbing a test flight earlier in the week. The highly anticipated uncrewed mission will bring the US closer to returning astronauts to the Moon five decades after humans last walked on the lunar surface.

People wait for the NASA moon rocket to launch on Pad 39B before the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The mission was scrubbed on Saturday.

NASA’s Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on September 03, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis I today at 2:17 pm after scrubbing the first attempt due to an engine issue.

Members of the media setup as NASA’s Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis I today starting at 2:17 pm after the first attempt was scrubbed due to an engine issue.

Lightning flashes from a nearby thunderstorm Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 as as Artemis I is prepared for launch. Area officials are predicting as many as 400,000 people may be in Brevard for Saturday’s 2:17pm launch.

The NASA moon rocket stands on Pad 39B before the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The NASA moon rocket stands on Pad 39B before the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In this handout image provided by NASA, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on September 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. The launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Sept. 3 at 2:17 p.m.

Photographers reset remote cameras as NASA technicians troubleshoot issues on Artemis I Sept.1, 2022. NASA is now targeting Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 for the next attempt at launching its Artemis I mission to the moon after the Monday, Aug. 29 launch was scrubbed because of technical problems at Kennedy Space Center. Area officials are predicting as many as 400,000 people may be in Brevard for Saturday’s launch.

NASA’s new moon rocket sits on Launch Pad 39-B minutes after the launch was scrubbed, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Space Shirts store director Brenda Mulberry (R) works with her colleague, near the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla, on Aug. 27, 2022. On the main road to Merritt Island, the peninsula where the Kennedy Space Center is located, Brenda Mulberry’s space memorabilia shop is packed with tourists. Between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors are expected to attend the launch of the mission, called Artemis 1, which will propel an empty capsule to the Moon as part of a test for future crewed flights.

The Artemis I rocket sits on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Aug. 26, 2022, ahead of its expected launch on Aug. 29. Fifty years after the last Apollo mission, the Artemis program is poised to take up the baton of lunar exploration with a test launch on Aug. 29 of NASA’s most powerful rocket ever. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth.

Photographers place remote cameras near the new NASA moon rocket as it stands on Launch Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Artemis mission launch is scheduled for Monday Aug. 29.

NASA’s Artemis I rocket sits on launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center as it is prepared for an unmanned flight around the moon on Aug. 26, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technologies captured on Aug. 25, 2022, shows the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket at Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, ahead of its expected launch on August 29.

The sky begins to clear before dawn, highlighting the Artemis-1 moon rocket at Launch Pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center, in this view from Titusville, Florida on Aug. 23, 2022.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket Artemis I arrives at Pad 39B Wednesday morning, Aug. 17, 2022 in preparation for its expected launch to the moon on Aug. 29.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket Artemis I rolls out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. The rocket is headed for Pad 39B in preparation for its launch to the moon.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket Artemis I rolls out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. The rocket is headed for Pad 39B in preparation for its launch to the moon.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket Artemis I rolls out from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. The rocket is headed for Pad 39B in preparation for its launch to the moon.

The first full moon in June, called the Strawberry Moon, sets over the Orion capsule atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket just before dawn at Kennedy Space Center, FL Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Rocket propulsion functions in space because of universal physical laws, no air required

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Science

The Dolphin Clitoris Is Full of Surprises, Scientists Discover

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The bottlenose dolphin (Tersiops truncatus) appears to have a very large and well-developed clitoris, potentially better placed for coital pleasure than the clitoris of humans, according to new research.

 

The visible tip of the human clitoris is but the size of a pea and located slightly north of the vagina and urethra (although much of the structure remains hidden in the pelvis or under a ‘hood’ of skin).

The head of the dolphin clitoris, on the other hand, is slightly larger and located right near the vagina entrance. What’s more, the whole organ has an ‘S’-shaped bend in it, which suggests it can stick out even further when erect.

During copulation, it would be almost impossible for a dolphin penis to avoid, experts say.

“The dolphin clitoris has many features to suggest that it functions to provide pleasure to females,” says biologist Patricia Brennan from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

“We knew that dolphins have sex not just to reproduce, but also to solidify social bonds, so it seemed likely that the clitoris could be functional.”

Computer reconstruction of the dolphin clitoris. (Dara Orbach/Mount Holyoke College)

Today, we still know very little about the human clitoris and even less about its counterpart in other species. All female mammals are known to have a clitoris-like structure, but we still aren’t sure how these organs function or if they give animals pleasure.

Like humans, female dolphins are known to copulate all year round, but only sometimes are they ovulating. This suggests the species mates for more than just reproduction.

 

In the wild, for instance, bottlenose dolphins have been observed partaking in group orgies, where male and females alike use their snouts, flippers, and flukes to rub the protruding clitorises and penises of their peers.

Direct stimulation of the clitoris has also been observed in sexual interactions between only females. 

Unfortunately, we can’t scan a dolphin’s brain during all this hanky panky to see if these creatures really are having fun, so researchers have turned to the clitoris itself for answers.

When scanning the sexual organs of 11 naturally deceased female dolphins, the team found an abundance of erectile tissue, blood vessels, and nerve endings in the clitoris.

Similar to the human clitoris, the glans of the dolphin clitoris is also enclosed in a hood. In dolphin adulthood, this hood becomes wrinkled, possibly allowing the tip of the organ, which includes erectile tissue, to swell with blood when aroused.

Arteries in the clitoris were also found to closely trace clitoral nerves, which is an indication of orgasm function in humans.

“Since the entire pelvis of dolphins is so different to humans, it was surprising to see how similar the shapes were,” says Brennan.

 

“Also, the size of the nerves in the clitoris body was very surprising. Some were larger than half a millimeter in diameter.”

Given that the penis and the clitoris develop from the same structures, the findings could help explain why dolphins of all sexes have been seen masturbating on the sandy floor. Some have even been caught using ‘sex toys’, in the form of dead fish or wriggling eels.

Dolphin sex is clearly a kinky affair, and it’s drawn the interest of researchers for years now. Still, most experts have been interested in the dolphin penis, investigating what it looks like, and examining how it fits with the dolphin vagina.

In comparison, the dolphin clitoris has been all but overlooked. And that’s the case for most female mammals.

“Very little is known about female reproductive morphology in most wild vertebrate species,” said researcher Dara Orbach, when announcing the preliminary results of her dolphin dissection in 2019.

“This research provides a comparative framework to explore other functions of sex that may not be unique to humans.”

If sexual pleasure really does hold evolutionary significance, female pleasure among mammals might tell us how. Ignoring this side of sex will give us only half the picture, and as we all know, it takes at least two to tango.

The study was published in Current Biology.

 

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