Re:Navy Sets World Record With Rail Gun
by stcredzero on Saturday December 11, 2010 @01:27PM
(#1995342)
You'll dissipate most of your energy by the time you reach the thick air of the lower atmosphere.
This speaks to my point. In launch accelerator mode, you want to dissipate as little energy as possible. In reentry mode, you want to dump the majority of a big honking chunk of kinetic energy.
I'm sure there are all sorts of optimizations to consider. How about a mostly vertical trajectory, with most of the horizontal velocity provided by lasers heating a heat-exchanger?
By keeping the trajectory mostly vertical, one can avoid most of the lower atmosphere by stationing the opening to the atmosphere miles above the surface. This also limits the downrange danger-zone for falling malfunctioning cargo pods. Additionally, it makes the cargo pods easier to target with the lasers, since the powered flight would be entirely in the upper atmosphere. It would also make the rocket nozzles easier to design.
This speaks to my point. In launch accelerator mode, you want to dissipate as little energy as possible. In reentry mode, you want to dump the majority of a big honking chunk of kinetic energy.
I'm sure there are all sorts of optimizations to consider. How about a mostly vertical trajectory, with most of the horizontal velocity provided by lasers heating a heat-exchanger?
By keeping the trajectory mostly vertical, one can avoid most of the lower atmosphere by stationing the opening to the atmosphere miles above the surface. This also limits the downrange danger-zone for falling malfunctioning cargo pods. Additionally, it makes the cargo pods easier to target with the lasers, since the powered flight would be entirely in the upper atmosphere. It would also make the rocket nozzles easier to design.