# The Expanse Season 5 trailer and release date **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, amazon-prime\ **Created:** [October 9, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543 "2020-10-09T04:06:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/121 "2021-01-21T19:16:49Z")
E8 wasn’t the strongest episode of the season IMO. I thought that Naomi’s story here was fantastic for showing us how hard she struggled and how she worked out a solution with seriously limited tools and abilities. I appreciated the show-don’t-tell style (my favorite). But I also thought it plodded along and took up waaaaaaay too much of the episode. Amos’ story amounted to: Amos: Thanks for not killing me like you said would. We’re leaving; you wanna come with? Eric: Yeah; alright. It was maybe 4 minutes of screen time. Camina’s story was another 4 minutes: Karal: Haha! I am Marco’s eyes & ears on this ship and I am really in control here, not you! Camina: Aaaaaaaaaargh! It felt like the other 42 minutes was pretty much just Naomi sobbing and struggling. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/122 "2021-01-21T20:01:12Z")
The “convince Eric to leave” scene just seemed dumb to me. Eric seems like he’s probably _best_ positioned to ride out the post-asteroid Baltimore area. Where’s he going to start over at that’s any better? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/123 "2021-01-21T20:18:01Z")
By far the biggest problem with the episode was that they talked about _suborbital_ flights to the _Moon_. Travel to Luna by definition requires an orbital craft. Suborbital means you’re coming back to Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/124 "2021-01-21T20:19:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Amos’ story amounted to: > > Amos: Thanks for not killing me like you said would. We’re leaving; you wanna come with? > Eric: Yeah; alright. > > It was maybe 4 minutes of screen time. It is also silly to claim that people need to get off-planet so much when it was such tiny, localized strikes. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/125 "2021-01-21T20:22:55Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > By far the biggest problem with the episode was that they talked about _suborbital_ flights to the _Moon_ . Travel to Luna by definition requires an orbital craft. Suborbital means you’re coming back to Earth. Yeah, I took “sub-orbital” to mean a future colloquialism that just means “within your local gravity well”. Straight shot to the moon and back, but you’re not getting to Mars or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/126 "2021-01-21T20:24:22Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > The “convince Eric to leave” scene just seemed dumb to me. Eric seems like he’s probably _best_ positioned to ride out the post-asteroid Baltimore area. Where’s he going to start over at that’s any better? It is silly (as I just mentioned). The problem is that in the show the strikes killed 2-3 million in local damage, while in the books they killed 20-30 _billion_–the majority of the Earth’s population–and effectively killed the whole planet. But the escape plot was lifted from the book anyway. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/127 "2021-01-21T20:54:37Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > By far the biggest problem with the episode was that they talked about _suborbital_ flights to the _Moon_ . Travel to Luna by definition requires an orbital craft. Suborbital means you’re coming back to Earth. I think a lot of the travel between the planets and Luna is by ships that are not rated for atmosphere. For those, they use a suborbital shuttle to take off from Earth and dock with the interplanetary ship. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/128 "2021-01-21T20:58:54Z")
But the interplanetary ship would be in Earth orbit, and the suborbital ship would need to reach orbit to dock with it (at least, if the “docking” doesn’t happen at a relative velocity of 8 km/s, which would be very… messy). Of course it is possible that the orbital ship slows down to suborbital speed, docks with a suborbital shuttle as it skips out of the atmosphere, then speeds back up before crashing - but that seems needlessly complicated and quite dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/129 "2021-01-21T21:32:54Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > but that seems needlessly complicated and quite dangerous. Maybe not so bad with the Epstein drive, though. I forget: has it been established if the drive works in an atmosphere? Could be the suborbital hoppers only have a crappy chemical drive, just enough to get above the atmosphere. The interplanetary craft easily hovers there due to the efficient drive (which can go for days at 1 g, so a minute or two to dock is no big deal). Maybe we’ll find out next episode… ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/130 "2021-01-21T21:41:01Z")
I assume so because we’ve seen relatively small crafts go in and out of orbit with no visible fuel tanks and no staging, which isn’t possible with known methods of chemical propulsion. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/131 "2021-01-21T21:45:46Z")
Well, getting _back_ from orbit isn’t too bad, but you’re right, I think we’ve seen relatively small craft get to orbit. Could be chemical rockets are still cheaper, and within the price range for well-off but not ultra rich folks. Like piston airplanes are available today to the reasonably wealthy, but jets are not. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/132 "2021-01-21T21:51:28Z")
Yes but didn’t the martian delegation a few seasons ago get both in and out of earth orbit on that small black shuttle? No way that thing could be an SSTO chemical rocket. I am not sure if this is the exact picture but Avasarala got into orbit on a dropship that looked like this: [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/expanse/images/7/7a/S02E12ltype14m27s.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20181127170611) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/expanse/images/7/7a/S02E12ltype14m27s.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20181127170611) And the shuttles they used to get to the surface of the alien world looked too small to be chemical SSTOs too. Though I guess the atmosphere and surface gravity could have been different. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/133 "2021-01-22T19:36:14Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Maybe not so bad with the Epstein drive, though. > > I forget: has it been established if the drive works in an atmosphere? Could be the suborbital hoppers only have a crappy chemical drive, just enough to get above the atmosphere. The interplanetary craft easily hovers there due to the efficient drive (which can go for days at 1 g, so a minute or two to dock is no big deal). > > Maybe we’ll find out next episode… Didn’t the Roci land on the surface last season, with Miller and the World-Destroying Monster? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/134 "2021-01-22T19:57:58Z")
Yes. [This clip](https://youtu.be/WCHCquhQFfY?t=70) shows the Roci entering the atmosphere, with more details around 2:20. The Epstein drive doesn’t appear to be used for the landing, but I don’t know if that’s because it wouldn’t work or some other reason. I suspect it’s somewhat to avoid slagging the ground. Previously, they’ve talked about turning on the drive immediately on take-off to destroy something. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/135 "2021-01-24T18:33:03Z")
In the first season, when the Canterbury was putting together a rescue crew, it was mentioned that they had three shuttles, one rated for atmosphere. Most shuttles only operate in space. I took it that a suborbital shuttle was a shuttle that could go down a gravity well or operate in atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/136 "2021-01-24T20:58:05Z")
I other words, in the future orbital capacity is so common that ALL shuttles are orbital, and what sets a “suborbital” shuttle apart is actually its ability to LEAVE orbit? That actually makes a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/137 "2021-01-24T22:09:47Z")
Exactly. A suborbital shuttle is a shuttle that can drop out of orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/138 "2021-01-24T22:11:06Z")
Or, yaknow, the writers of that line didn’t know what they were talking about, like Lucas and his “parsecs” thing. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/139 "2021-01-27T18:39:27Z")
Not thrilled with this one on any of the storylines. Even the payoff on the joke was weak. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543/140 "2021-01-27T19:00:37Z")
Interim Secretary General went from decent enough seeming guy to wannabe genocidal maniac. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-expanse-season-5-trailer-and-release-date/922543.md?page=8)