I used to mock the physics in Gravity until my brother made me watch the fire extinguisher scene with actual numbers

Margaret Rivera · 2026-10-13T20:10:06.211743+00:00

I always rolled my eyes at Gravity and how Sandra Bullock zips between space stations like she is on a skateboard. My brother is a real aerospace guy in Pasadena and he sat me down two weeks ago with a napkin and started doing math. He said the movie takes place over like 90 minutes of story but the actual orbital mechanics would need days or weeks for those transfers, not to mention the fuel. What got me was when he showed me that in real life the ISS and the Chinese station are not even close to the same orbit, so she would be stranded for good. I still love the movie but now I watch it as pure fantasy instead of getting mad at it, and honestly it is more fun that way. Does anyone else have one movie where real science made you chill out instead of ruining it?

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I used to mock the physics in Gravity until my brother made me watch the fire extinguisher scene with actual numbers | Bad Movie Science - Discusd