Re: Scrapping Scram

From: Alan Erskine (alanerskine1_at_bigpond.com)
Date: 10/29/04 

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 16:32:24 GMT

"Ian Stirling" <root@mauve.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:41826d8a$0$33639$ed2619ec@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
> Yes, there is oxygen in the atmosphere, but to use it means you've got
> to stay in the atmosphere.
> This means extreme heating and drag.
> And even if you can get to Mach 10 this way, you've still got to put on
> about 85% of the remaining energy in order to get into orbit.
> And you've got to carry the heavy thermal protection systems and scramjet
> dead-weight into orbit.

Air-breathing lower stage (White Knight, AN-225 [Russian 'mini-shuttle' from
a couple of years ago - already at prototype construction stage with engine
tested]) and a rocket upper stage (SS1+ and other vehicles).

The reason these vehicles work (would work, in the case of the Russian
system) is due to their very combination of different concepts. 

-- 
Alan Erskine
We can get people to the Moon in five years,
not the fifteen GWB proposes.
Give NASA a real challenge
Alanterskine1@bigpond.com