The new Space Race - Racing!

Pretty much every vehicle ever invented has been used for racing on at some point, so it seems likely that people would want to do the same in space.

However in space it doesn't really work the same way, the main problems being:

1. There is no real sense of speed. Can you even get the same thrill out of a race without the ground rushing past beneath you?
2. Collisions would be incredibly dangerous.
3. Everything is constantly moving as things orbit each other so the track is changing all the time.
4. The exhaust trails (or any dropped objects) from one racer could interfere with the other racers.

Given all these constraints, and possibly more, would it be conceivable to have races in space and if it was conceivable what form would those races take?

Tech level: No FTL, highly efficient reaction drives and radiation shielding. Multiple planets settled, along with space station and asteroid/ring mining stations. Essentially we have decent space tech but everything working within our known physics limitations. No warp drives or force shields.

My first thought is that something like the round-the-world sailing race might be a good model but I'm open to other suggestions.

posted almost 10 years ago

Tim B‭

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