4 ms·
Interesting. That requires an atmosphere though; it might work for the first stage of a launch from Earth, and maybe even for Mars. Once you're out of the atm
by elihu 4y ago
Interesting. That requires an atmosphere though; it might work for the first stage of a launch from Earth, and maybe even for Mars. Once you're out of the atmosphere you'd need some other method of propulsion.
- trhway 4y agoI think nuclear space propulsion would be used as a reactor generating energy for ionic drive. That would work as a Mars-Earth shuttle while never going into atmosphere. The landing to and launching from the plane surface would be done by regular chemical rockets.
- XorNot 4y agoSpecifically it requires propellant, which on Earth is the air intake. For space travel you have to still take a propellant, but it can be essentially any type of gaseous reaction mass - for example, water.