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If suborbital flight could be achieved via some combination of space elevators making it sustainable, sure, or some form of propulsion that doesn't consume one
by komali2 3y ago
If suborbital flight could be achieved via some combination of space elevators making it sustainable, sure, or some form of propulsion that doesn't consume one million pounds of fuel. Otherwise it's unsustainable, like most things about air travel today.
So IMO the ultimate would be something more along the lines of zeppelins. A week from Taiwan to California isn't so bad if I get to spend the time relaxing in a way similar to how I do on a sleeper train. Plus, airships.
- adastra22 3y agoThe marginal net energetic cost for two-stage rocket based suborbital transport (e.g. Starship) is about 4x a modern airplane. So about on par with the Concorde and within reach of first-class ticket pricing. If this is surprising, keep in mind that the rocket is only on for 8 minutes, and most of the flight is experiencing zero drag from being above the atmosphere.
- ghaff 3y agoA week on an ocean liner is one thing. A week on the equivalent of a sleeper train with no real scenery seems like something else. That doesn't really feel like a it's the journey not the destination thing after the first day or two.