Re: Can't We call the early Atlas a SSTO?

In article <1184104960.350029.62520@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
surfduke <surfduke2001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Has anyone reviewed research information related to the Skylon project.

It's not ridiculous, but it's got some dubious features, and whether they
can build their multi-mode engine with the desired performance remains an
open question.

Some recent papers on HOTOL -- Skylon's predecessor -- contain the
interesting revelation that when the final HOTOL design was compared
against an all-rocket SSTO using the same level of technology, to the
designers' horror, the all-rocket design performed better. This startling
discovery happens to a lot of airbreathing-launcher projects, when they're
honest enough to do an apples-to-apples comparison.
--
spsystems.net is temporarily off the air; | Henry Spencer
mail to henry at zoo.utoronto.ca instead. | henry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cant We call the early Atlas a SSTO?
    ... can build their multi-mode engine with the desired performance remains an ... against an all-rocket SSTO using the same level of technology, ... designers' horror, ... honest enough to do an apples-to-apples comparison. ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Cant We call the early Atlas a SSTO?
    ... against an all-rocket SSTO using the same level of technology, ... designers' horror, ... That looks like a pretty straight-forward approach to a reusable first stage, And I think that a rocket based on that concept could have real profit potential, particularly in that the stage flies right back to the launch site rather than needing recovery and transport back to the ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Cant We call the early Atlas a SSTO?
    ... against an all-rocket SSTO using the same level of technology, ... designers' horror, ... discovery happens to a lot of airbreathing-launcher projects, ... chemical rockets. ...
    (sci.space.history)
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