Newton's Trajectories
Newton's Trajectories
[The panel shows a shaded sphere with a rocket launched from its top to the right. Several trajectories are plotted around the sphere.]
[Trajectory 1 (in black) shows a successful circular orbit.] Humans slip the bonds of Earth to travel the stars
[Trajectory 2 (in red) shows a ballistic arc that crashes into the sphere near the bottom.] Civilization ends in fire
[Trajectory 3 (in red) shows a much shorter ballistic arc. No label.]
[Caption below the panel:] In retrospect, Newton's little cannonball drawing does a surprisingly good job illustrating the range of possible futures of our species.

The comic shows the Earth, with three apparent rockets on separate trajectories. One is released with sufficient velocity to attain a stable orbit, while the other two fall towards the Earth. This is a slight modification of Newton's cannonball , a thought experiment demonstrating the planetary effects of gravity.
The black rocket trajectory is typically that of a rocket delivering a payload to low earth orbit. While a satellite in orbit is still bound to earth, it represents an important step in the history of space exploration. Today, a lot of scientific research regarding the future of human spaceflight is done from low earth orbit, most notably on the ISS .
The red rocket trajectories are suborbital, and more commonly associated with ICBMs . These are missiles typically equipped with nuclear warheads. Using such a weapon is likely to trigger a global nuclear war, with disastrous effects for civilization. It is worth noting that ICBMs normally use a different trajectory that goes much higher before falling down at a steeper angle. These trajectories are also different from FOBS , where missiles actually go into orbit (the black trajectory) before deorbiting and falling back on earth.
Here, Newton's cannonball is used both to observe humanity’s technological future (interplanetary travel, availability of advanced technology to the masses, and constant scientific improvement; or nuclear desolation and the extinction of our species) and to underscore that argument by pointing out the inherent metaphor in the experiment: the cannonball can only escape the atmosphere by achieving high velocity (i.e. escape velocity). Similarly, Randall’s technological utopia will only deliver us from nuclear extinction if it happens quickly; otherwise, mankind will destroy itself.  Of course, that threat only exists because of a triumph of technological progress, the Manhattan Project , but again, technology is a means to an end.
The phrase "slip the bonds of Earth" comes from the sonnet " High Flight " written in 1941 by John Gillespie Magee Jr., an American pilot in the Second World War. Portions of this poem appear on the headstones of many interred in Arlington National Cemetery, particularly aviators and astronauts; it was also quoted in President Reagan's speech after the Challenger disaster.
The title text alludes to the unfortunate film The Core , involving drilling to the center of the Earth to restart the stopped rotation of the magnetic core. The line is ostensibly aimed at the center of the Earth. Apparently, not even Newton could predict such a bold, daring and disastrous movie. Or movies.
[The panel shows a shaded sphere with a rocket launched from its top to the right. Several trajectories are plotted around the sphere.]
[Trajectory 1 (in black) shows a successful circular orbit.] Humans slip the bonds of Earth to travel the stars
[Trajectory 2 (in red) shows a ballistic arc that crashes into the sphere near the bottom.] Civilization ends in fire
[Trajectory 3 (in red) shows a much shorter ballistic arc. No label.]
[Caption below the panel:] In retrospect, Newton's little cannonball drawing does a surprisingly good job illustrating the range of possible futures of our species.
