Why Escaping Earth Is NOT Enough to Hit the Sun

Fuel: 35.0 km/s left Score: —
Controls
Hold to thrust · 1 sec = 10 min of simulated burn
Include Earth's pull after you leave
Show/hide Venus from simulation
Earth's speed around the Sun — 1.00×
Speed relative to Earth's escape velocity — 1.00× = 11.2 km/s
Which way you're aiming from Earth — 245° ← retrograde
Tip: 0°=toward Sun, 90°=prograde, 180°=away from Sun, 270°=retrograde
Launch brake: cancel 0.0 km/s of sideways speed — = -0.0 km/s
Explanation

• You're launching from Earth — you already have Earth's ~30 km/s sideways speed.

• Escaping Earth ≠ stopping relative to the Sun.

• If you keep sideways speed, you MISS the Sun.

• To hit the Sun: cancel the tangential velocity.

• This is why Parker Solar Probe needed multiple Venus flybys.

• Going into the Sun can be harder than leaving the solar system entirely.