chester60
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Apr 8, 2026 9:12 PM
chester60
14248
309
22
NinjaCongo
Now rocket surgery, that's properly complicated stuff.
ArkoneAxon
And of course, if you deliberately screw up the rocket science, then you've moved on into explosives and demolitions.
TennisieB
Yes, "rocket science" is the standard metaphor for something difficult. But it should be "rocket engineering" because that's where most of the brilliance has been necessary.
Snooj
It's not canceling cable service.
heteroscedastic
I said "rocket equation" to a rocket scientist and they just started crying.
nobodyspecial995
Problems only Americans understand.
PapaSloth
You have obviously underestimated the difficulty in hitting anything from a great distance.
Xenarion
That is grossly reductive of how rocket science work.
rbudrick
Sure, if you just want the rocket to nyoom,but fireworks do that.
battery1979
Kerbal Space Program taught me the value of asking "Do I have enough delta V for this maneuver" and that Kerbals are expendable.
5v4297j9fj1
Jarjarthejedi
Sure, all you have to do is make sure that your thrust is greater than the weight of the rocket. And that the orbital dynamics allow for the maneuver you're performing to be done with the total delta-v you have. And that you're not maneuvering in a way that actively prevents you from achieving your goal but seems intuitive, such as pointing towards something in the same orbit as you and hitting the thrust to try and reach it which will actually end up increasing the distance between you. Simple.
CoalhouseWalker
And you haven't even begun to talk about all of the science required to be understood and developed - materials, fluids, structural dynamics, chemistry, thermal transport, etc - before you can engineer something that can eventually be built. All real simple stuff.
Omnimorph2112
It's not like it's brain surgery. https://youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I
NaughtButOne
Teledabby
cousteau
I think I've made more GP appointments than rockets, then again you do that sort of thing online over here.
theskepticinme
Ok try this easy rocket science: how much fuel (APCP) do you need to send a 5 metric ton payload vertically to 8km?
Teledabby
all of it meme?
straycatstrut
What's a GP?
Daliena06
General Practitioner. Basically the "I'm feeling kind of funky but not sure why/it doesn't warrant going out to an expensive specialist because I just need a script for antibiotics, not rocket surgery" doctor, I believe
FentuckyCriedKhicken
Why do I want an appointment with my Gladiator Psychiatrist?
maygoe
I had a summer internship at NASA. After working there all summer, I realized what my work was potentially going to be used for. I actually called up my parents and said "Guess what I just realized. I am a rocket scientist."
elbowdeepinawhateverthatis
“Rocket science is fairly simple. All you have to do is make sure that the thrust the engines produce is greater than the weight of the rocket and off they go”
This post written by the project manager of Intelsat 708.
urusername2
You got the thrust part, but you don't have the direction part, or the survivability and backups.
Teledabby
its a 'bit' more complext that that. Like "This end should point towards the ground if you want go to space!"
GravyEducation
I don't say rocket science. I say surgery, as in, space is my operating table and I'm the surgeon
OperatorWay
PlausibleLies
It's not Rocket Surgery has been my most used malaphor since the late 80's
Tarmaccian
It ain’t rocket science… because I can do rocket science!
Thisusedyet
I hear that among rocket scientists, the saying is *It's not music theory!*
Tarmaccian
Funny thing… I just left my job doing IT for satellite-tracking systems (among other things), so now I’m only in regular contact with just one rocket scientist.
I’m the sound tech for his band.
spitfires2000
Well... on the way back from an appointment with your GP you don't run the risk getting burned up if you do something even slightly wrong.
mksu
Depends who's behind you.
VowelShiftBetch
What if you drive a Tesla
spitfires2000
Well... good point! Well... maybe... you deserve it then? ;-)
TonawandaBlue
Meltemi
PapaSloth
Teri Garr was hot.
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
I get that this is a joke, but the rocket science saying is used globally. The GP issue is pretty much unique to the US. Those of us living in normal countries can not relate.
Elvirana
In German we say "Es ist kein Hexenwerk" (It's not witch craft). I know the English saying, of course, but it's not exactly used everywhere.
SnowCrashedToDesktop
It's a letter from Viz. Viz is a UK satirical comic.
Xenarion
I was about to say that. Getting an appointment with my GP is a matter of going on the clinic's website, clicking on a box in a calendar, and confirming.
Fanner50
We used to talk about brain surgery as if it was difficult, then we met Ben Carson…
unclesporky
I thought this post was about Canada or the UK, since we don't call them GPs in the US. They're Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) or just your family doctor. And people from Canada/UK talk all the time about having difficulty seeing their GP. The problem in the US is not scheduling, it's cost.
RevolutionOnHerLips
Same. I've heard a lot of horror stories about the NHS.
DustyGazungas
Also the scheduling, I tried to get an appointment recently and the soonest they could see me was in four months. One place I called said it wouldn’t be until February.
GravyEducation
Universal language ain't rocket surgery
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
I mean, does the Pope shit in the woods?
GravyEducation
We'll burn that bridge when we come to it
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
I think that train has sailed.
invaderjak
Sure, but then you get into producing thrust without exploding the engines and things get a little trickier.
diemajorthrilldie
It's just physics, you start from the big bang where X=∞/0 and just simply extrapolate from there.
ghostofGracchusBabeuf
And just try doing the math for navigation! It is very much not a picnic
ActualTttony
Who's Vector and what time does he get in?
BeckyLookAtHerButt
Details, details. /s
UnaccomplishedWatcherImNotaBot
And you have to fly it, without wings, to target, without tipping, and sometimes land it. And manage drag, Gs, and other stuff, so all of that doesn't fail halfway through.
Lichelf
A little trickier maybe, but it's not exactly brain surgery.
WhiteRhino723
Dude just ignored nozzle control like it's nothing.
modis
True, and then you also need to add fuel to lift the fuel that’s lifting your rocket. And then you need to add fuel to lift the fuel that’s going to lift the fuel lifting your rocket. And then you meed more fuel to lift the fuel thats lifting the fuel that lifting…..wait, where am i? Shit, let me start again. You need to add fuel to lift the fuel…
Mezinov
Unless explosions is the engines; a-la Project Orion.
Eidodk
ALL burning is practically "explosions", as in an explosion is the release of energy.
Daliena06
Yeah but then there's fresh questions to answer, like how an Orion Drive that's only good for one pulse before the ship ceases to be a ship is not an attractive prospect for those onboard
Mmbear
They didn’t say you had to be a good rocket scientist.
invaderjak
We are all rocket scientists.
dotslashsandwich
Exactly. I always say that Rocket Engineering is where the real challenge is
Eidodk
Not really. That's number crunching and practical appliance.. How big of a hole do i need/how flexible does my reaction chamber need to be, to expunge the reaction of my compacted fuel burning safely, to ensure that the energy dispersed from the reaction, stays below the reaction chamber.
sv1rr
When I thrust explosions happen.
myeyesthegogglesdonothing
quietwalker
That's an engineering issue. Practical application is completely unrelated to the theoretical sciences.
jasondeslin
I wish I could upvote you twice. Dying lol
Hexarcy00
No, it's both
bearstrap
Yeah, I've always said - the first time, it's Science. After that it's just Engineering
(I went to school to be a rocket engineer)
Also, Engineers hate Scientists for a lot of the same reasons Technicians hate Engineers
invaderjak
Perhaps the phrase should be changed to "Its not rocket engineering!"
AstartesLibrarius
Personally I'm fond of "It's not exactly rocket surgery."
quietwalker
Rocket Engineering is hard as hell.
jnmjnmjnm
‘Tis.
Former rocket engineer