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Re:Bring back hydrogen lifting gas by dghlsakjg on Monday August 09, 2021 @02:54PM (#28120769)
Yes, but...

The majority of energy expended in getting to orbit is spent in getting to orbital velocity (going sideways), rather than getting to orbital altitude (going up). Balloons only help in going up, and only to where the density of the atmosphere is so low that the balloon is no longer lifting, they are still far short of the altitude necessary for orbit. Balloons top out at around 20-30 miles while LEO is ~100 miles.

So launching using a balloon only really gives you a very small fuel savings

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