3 ms·
At 20 kilometers you still have gravity… I should hope so. They talk about saving launch fuel by launching satellites from such a tower. The dynamics elude me
by jws 17y ago
At 20 kilometers you still have gravity…
I should hope so.
They talk about saving launch fuel by launching satellites from such a tower. The dynamics elude me on that one. Sure, higher up the gravity well and all, but gossamer cylinders of (probably) hydrogen in a rocket plume is going to be worth the price of admission.
- stcredzero 17y agoYou can put an electromagnetic accelerator on the thing, and substitute acceleration from it for a first stage. It would be like the "pop-up" trajectory envisioned for some TSTO concepts. Just by getting the craft above the bulk of the atmosphere, you can optimize the engines to work in a narrower range of atmospheric pressure. At 20km, you still have some atmosphere to work with as well. Perhaps such a craft could use fins to exchange some vertical velocity for horizontal.
- jws 17y agoI like that idea. I wonder if you even use the inherent springiness of the pressurized cylinders for the first boost. Get the rockets up there then start the tower top bouncing, eventually release the rocket when it can loft high enough that a minor steering adjustment will avoid tower destruction.