Question

Jack Bumblespeed, our fearless space walker, runs out of fuel in his power pack while drifting at 1 m/s away from the Space Shuttle. Jack, remembering what he learned in physics class, removes his 27.0 kg power pack and throws it away at 2.7 m/s in a direction away from the Shuttle. The mass of Jack plus space suit, minus power pack, is 105.0 kg. Calculate the new relative speed of Jack towards the Space Shuttle to see if he will catch up with the Shuttle. HINT: Use conservation of momentum.

Answer 1