3 ms·
“Radian’s solution is a rocket-powered sled that runs along a two-mile rail and accelerates up to Mach 0.7 — 537 mph (864 kilometers per hour) — before releasin
by blendo 2y ago
“Radian’s solution is a rocket-powered sled that runs along a two-mile rail and accelerates up to Mach 0.7 — 537 mph (864 kilometers per hour) — before releasing the space plane”.
Once released from the rail track (a flat track at ground level, I assume), won’t air drag hit it like a ton of bricks?
Maybe if they put the track on top of a 20,000 foot mountain, and/or somehow released the spacecraft at a 45 degree angle?
- inhumantsar 2y agoit will already be experiencing air drag unless they launch from a vacuum (which is how spinlaunch does the thing). the article doesn't really say, but I'm guessing this lets them use a rocket motor that would perform well after that initial acceleration but would struggle with producing that acceleration on its own.