If you take a trip to the edge of space, 110 km. up, just beyond the legally-defined boundary of space, which is 100 km., so you're a space traveller, the craft you'll fly in, run by Sir Richard Branson's company, is lifted to a higher altitude than ordinary airliners fly by a very expensive custom built aircraft before they turn on the juice. 55000 feet is 19 Km ; a small fraction of the altitude you need. Why not just use the spacecraft and dispense with the other vehicle? You'd only need to carry about 20% more fuel. It would be much cheaper, surely?
2007-10-21 19:56:02 · 5 answers · asked by zee_prime 6 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
The space craft then will need to carry that fuel down. Instead his aircraft will actually glide along smooth. In essence the idea is that when Nasa sends a rocket it sends huge fuel tank which breaks of in mid air cuz the rocket is almost on space and that part is a waste. What this new craft does is usability.
2007-10-21 20:15:51 · answer #1 · answered by Xtrax 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Also, with that 50% extra fuel someone added, you will then need more fuel to allow the aircraft to be able to carry this fuel. You also start losing the same efficiency etc, due to the aircraft having to be larger.
The aircraft is totally built on the challenge of being able to fly really high. It is really easy for something bigger to tow you up most of the way, the aerodynamic challenge hasnt properly even started then
2007-10-22 07:39:31 · answer #2 · answered by Ryan P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a couple of good reasons for this. First at ground level the air craft/space craft needs to have good lift characteristics (Big wings). These wings are no good at the high speeds the space craft will endure during its flight.
Secondly to overcome the force of gravity using only brute force will require a huge fuel capacity (Just like the shuttle).
2007-10-22 09:08:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
actually you would probably need at least 50% more fuel. The first 50000 ft is the hard part. About 70 % of the atmosphere is below you at that height remember that the original space ship one spent over an hour attached to the mother ship to get that high.
2007-10-22 04:31:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
55,000 Ft. is above a lot of air resistance, and
the speed of the launch vehicle is added to
that advantage.
That represents a lot of fuel that the space vehicle doesn't need to carry to that altitude and speed.
2007-10-22 03:56:41 · answer #5 · answered by Irv S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋