Australia to UK under 3 hours: via space travel

[gedaliah_atl]

Virgin to commercialize suborbital space travel between Australia and UK?

http://ibtimes.com.au/articles/20090512/australia-underhours-via-space-travel.htm

 

[Andy44]

The article seems to be confusing SpaceShip 2's upcoming test flights with hypersonic skip-gliding.

Hypersonic skip-glide travel between continents has been dreamed of since the 1930s, proposed since the 1950s, and continuously on hold since the 1960s. The Space Shuttle proves that it's technically possible, but its costworthiness is still in question.

One thing is for sure, it is a far cry from the sub-orbital hops of SpaceShip 2, which only reach a max speed of Mach 3 or so during re-entry. Transcontinental skip-gliding requires a velocity of over 6 km/s, over Mach 20!

 

[Tex]

Transcontinental skip-gliding requires a velocity of over 6 km/s, over Mach 20!

What altitude would they be at doing mach 20?

 

[tblaxland]

What altitude would they be at doing mach 20?

There is a paper here: http://www.responsivespace.com/Papers/RS2\SESSION PAPERS\SESSION 8\JENSEN\8002P.pdf

So about 40-50 nmi (75-90 km).

 

[Andy44]

What altitude would they be at doing mach 20?

tblaxland is right. I have been reading the book about the X-20 Dynasoar that arrived at my house a few weeks ago, and that program was all about skip-gliding as well as orbital flight. In fact it started out as a reincarnation of Eugen Sanger's Silverbird idea for a skip-gliding bomber or recon plane that is boosted to the edge of space and over Mach 20 and then skips completely around the planet to return to the launch site, similar to a space shuttle "abort, once around" (AOR).

Walter Dornberger picked up where Sanger left off, and after the war went to work for Bell, who proposed the idea to the USAF. Dornberger also wrote an article describing what intercontinental passenger travel in a hypersonic boost-glide rocketliner might be like. It would be a two-stage vehicle, launched vertically with a piloted fly-back first stage. The passengers would never be subjected to more than 3 G's or so, similar to a shuttle launch. The second stage would be the actual airliner, which would skip-glide towards its destination and then either glide in or use airbreathers to land on a runway. From there it would be turned around and mated to a locally-based first stage bird for a return flight.

The futuristic article is in the beginning of the X-20 book.

 

[Hielor]

...skips completely around the planet to return to the launch site, similar to a space shuttle "abort, once around" (AOA).

FTFY

Walter Dornberger picked up where Sanger left off, and after the war went to work for Bell, who proposed the idea to the USAF. Dornberger also wrote an article describing what intercontinental passenger travel in a hypersonic boost-glide rocketliner might be like. It would be a two-stage vehicle, launched vertically with a piloted fly-back first stage. The passengers would never be subjected to more than 3 G's or so, similar to a shuttle launch. The second stage would be the actual airliner, which would skip-glide towards its destination and then either glide in or use airbreathers to land on a runway. From there it would be turned around and mated to a locally-based first stage bird for a return flight.

I don't know if you could realistically have a public airliner subject its passengers to 3 Gs for any length of time...

 

[Andy44]

Like I said, it was a dream back in the day. It would be so expensive anyway that Branson would probably sell it as an amusement ride for rich people, anyway. Sign a waiver, etc.

I question it's ability to pay for itself, even then. You're talking extreme high performance here, both in materials and propulsion. The space shuttle shows it's possible as a prototype but shuttle tech is not ready for prime time yet. Has to made more bulletproof first.

 

[Tex]

That's very interesting Andy, thanks for posting this! When I play Orbiter, I sometimes enjoy playing around in the upper atmosphere, so the thought of this actually happening in real life is interesting.

 

[Andy44]

Sputnik's Dynasoar add-on comes with a sub-orbital test flight scenario which follows a similar flight plan to what a boost-glide liner would fly. You launch from the Cape and land in Fortaleza. It's very tricky; if you don't reach the proper altitude and flight path angle at burnout you don't make it, period. There isn't enough impulse to make a ballistic flight, you really have to know how to fly the bird in a hypersonic glide. Fun short scenario to fly.

Stock DG is easy to practice this with, too.

 

[Notebook]

It can't do M20, but it may get off the ground...

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/lapcat_veh.html

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/lapcat_anim.html

N.

 

[tl8]

It can't do M20, but it may get off the ground...

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/lapcat_veh.html

http://www.reactionengines.co.uk/lapcat_anim.html

N.

It can only do 60mph it you put the server in a car on a motorway

 

[Notebook]

Well, its 70mph in the UK; haven't been on the M20(don't know if there is one). Tried the M25, didn't like it.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, its 70mph in the UK; haven't been on the M20(don't know if there is one). Tried the M25, didn't like it.

Which one is the biggest satanic sigil in human history? The M25, right?:lol:

 

[Notebook]

Well, it has got its own song...

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abZlWqVeLzg&feature=related"]YouTube - Chris Rea - The Road To Hell Full Version[/nomedia]

N.