MovieChat Forums > Alien: Covenant (2017) Discussion > Is the ship supposed to be in orbit?

Is the ship supposed to be in orbit?

posted 5 years ago by TerraFirma69 (2352)
3 replies | jump to latest

The captain says "let's bring us into close orbit" when they approach the planet. But then when Danny Mcbride brings them into the ill advised 80km and 40km above the atmosphere zones, they appear to be floating above/among the clouds somehow.

This seems to follow the Event Horizon school of 'orbital' mechanics where being in orbit just means you're at a certain altitude and can ignore the actual physics of being in an orbit.

So, is the ship supposed to be in orbit or does it have the absolutely colossal amount of constant thrust that would be required to keep itself aloft stationary above the planet?

[–] tph890 (490) 5 years ago

You answered your own question there, buddy.

[–] brux (14840) 5 years ago

They never say enough to let you know what is going on scientifically ... it's all blather and nonsense.

[–] crc32 (2584) 5 years ago

I figured they wern't in orbit but in flight at full thrust or something. I don't remember a whole lot but it did strike me that they were at power to maintain their altitude. The purpose of orbit is to turn off you thrustersd and coast in gravity to avoid spending fuel. The ship felt like it was in full flight. I don't know thats just what it felt like to me.