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It would still be possible to fly a predominantly ballistic trajectory, yet use rocket propulsion to decelerate whilst still outside the atmosphere. It would re
by seabass-labrax 4mo ago
It would still be possible to fly a predominantly ballistic trajectory, yet use rocket propulsion to decelerate whilst still outside the atmosphere. It would require a huge amount of extra fuel compared to a purely ballistic trajectory, but perhaps still less than achieving a full orbit and de-orbiting again for some destinations.
- pfdietz 4mo agoAt global distances a fraction orbital trajectory would use less total rocket delta-V. More practical would be a trajectory that was a series of small suborbital arcs with skipping off the atmosphere (perhaps with some airbreathing propulsion during the skips.) The thermal protection can cool by radiation between the skips.
- seabass-labrax 4mo agoThat would be very cool to witness! SABRE sounds like it would be an ideal engine for that application.