3 ms·
From Wikipedia [1]: "40,000 feet (12,000 m) is only about 4% of a low earth orbital altitude, and the subsonic aircraft reaches only about 3% of orbital veloci
by dgudkov 8y ago
From Wikipedia [1]:
"40,000 feet (12,000 m) is only about 4% of a low earth orbital altitude, and the subsonic aircraft reaches only about 3% of orbital velocity, yet by delivering the launch vehicle to this speed and altitude, the reusable aircraft replaces a costly first-stage booster."
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_(rocket) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_(rocket)
- simonh 8y agoIt could replace an extremely weak, low capability first stage. In comparison the F9 first stage throws the second stage up to an altitude of 65km at 2km/s, or 26% of orbital velocity. So this air launch approach only achieves about one fifth as much as an F9 first stage.
- ianai 8y agoThat sounds like an 80/20 rule application.