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Originally Posted by scastle
Well, I am no physicist, but AFAIK the only times you need propulsion in space is if you need to change speed or direction. In fact, I did read that if you went into orbit and were able to fire a handgun toward the sun, the bullet would eventually reach the sun (assuming it didn't get too near any other objects).
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Err, actually that's unlikely because the speed you need to achieve orbit (around 17,500 MPH IIRC) is less than "escape velocity" (about 25,500 MPH again IIRC) which is what you need to get away from Earth's gravitational pull.
So unless you can fire that bullet at 8,000 MPH *and* get the trajectory right, it's more likely to stay in orbit around the Earth.