3 ms·

Solar sails might be able to beat it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail

• AgentME 7y ago
  Aren't solar sails just for propelling yourself once you're in space? I can't imagine how you could launch off the surface of a planet with a solar sail.
  • 0xffff2 7y ago
    Yes, and even then they're incredibly low thrust devices. A light sail (whether solar or laser powered) may well be viable for sending a tiny unmanned probe to another star system (see [0]). It's really unlikely that it will ever scale up enough to take an average communication satellite the same distance, much less a manned craft. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot
• hinkley 7y ago
  M2P2 was going to test out magnetic sails, but Wikipedia is telling me they generate less thrust per kilowatt hour than ion thrusters. Explains why I haven't heard anything further about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_sail
• civilian 7y ago
  Solar sails are good for inter-planetary travel, but they aren't going to move the needle for launching off of a planet with 2g gravity! You need something that is compact and would give you a big impulse. As a KSP engineer would say, it "needs more boosters" https://i.redd.it/zuymxc5bb7s21.jpg https://i.redd.it/zuymxc5bb7s21.jpg