Space ships needs lights to take off? How they are oriented in the darkness?

Question

Space ships needs lights to take off? How they are oriented in the darkness?

Answer 1

Alien space ships don't need lights to take off any more than our own rockets do.  But they know a photo opportunity when they see one, just as our own rockets do.  It's harder to take pictures of a rocket or alien space ship if it isn't lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Our rockets are oriented using RADAR, GPS and the like.  Alien space ships presumably use some similar technology.  I don't have any first hand experience on alien space ships, though.

Answer 2

In the case of the space shuttle....it doesn't really need lights to orientate itself in darkness...it's all done by computer.

As far as needing lights to take off?...which lights are you refering to?

The ones on the launch pad?....that's just for us to be able to see it on the launch pad.

Maybe you can specify a little.

Answer 3

No, they produce enough light with their rocket engines to bright the night. ;)

In space, there are many ways to orient a spacecraft:

- Inertial navigation systems

- GPS

- Star Trackers (small cameras able to automatically locate stars and lock on them with high accuracy)

- Earths magnetic field (like a compass. With electrical power, you don't even need rocket engines for turning the spacecraft)

- Earths own Infrared radiation as horizon reference (powerful enough to heat spacecraft in low orbit)

- Ion sensors (The remaining atmosphere contains many ions, which flow past the spacecraft, and which can be measured and used for measuring the angle between flow and spacecraft)

- Gravity gradient (Orients the spacecraft almost like a compass needle towards the center of the planet)

When the sun shines, you can also use sun sensors.

Also, manned spacecraft have many lights outside for working outside it or for docking to other spacecraft.

Also, many unmanned satellites, are spin-stabilized, which means they are rotating pretty fast (100 rpm and more) so that they keep their orientation in space with only small differences.

Answer 4

No, rockets do not need lights to take off. Although the Space Shuttle for example usually takes off during the day, it is occasionally launched at night.

No one actually 'flies' a rocket at takeoff, so they don't need to be able to see, computers handle the whole process.

Answer 5

I have no idea what "lights" are being referred to.  No rocket launched from this planet needs lights to take-off (which makes no sense anyway).  Space shuttle astronauts use the fixed stars and other fixed points (such as the space station) to navigate in Earth orbit.

Answer 6

Do you see at teh end of rocket the way the fire is there at the end...will if you can see you'd problaby know it takes off by moslty fire...