Strategies for sub-orbital flight

[MAraujo]

Over the years Ive occasionally read articles about plans for commercial ventures into the sub-orbital transportation industry. You know "NYC to Tokyo before lunch".

So Ive spent a lot of time recently teasing out different techniques for sub-orbital flights. I am quite proficient with reentries from orbital flight (these are by far my favorite maneuvers in orbiter) but to my surprise I have found that a quick jump from KSC to Wideawake (using Ravenstar) to be a real challenge.

My main issue is reentry (of course).

If my ascent angle is low I can scram for a little and I have enough tangential velocity to get a good reentry angle, I run out of room to bleed off all that speed.

If my ascent angle is greater than 45 deg. my Ap alt is way too high and I drop like a rock and burn up.

combining the two, the best I can achieve is a is a series of sinusoidal dives into the atmosphere. I really don't like that. I prefer a long steady reentry with a small but constant decent rate.

What kind of profile should an efficient short range sub-orbl flight have?

Are there limits on what kind of range makes sense for a sub-orb flight? (obviously something like KSC to Cuba would be ridiculous)


My best time is 32 mins from ksc to wideawake using the ravenstar. If you try and beat it, please share your strategy.

 

[Kelpie]

Have a look at this
[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3669"]KSC to Ascension Island in 20 minutes[/ame]

 

[MAraujo]

Wow! that was intense....its amazing what some people can pull off. Not a very practical flight but it certainly opens up a lot of possibilities for maneuvers I never thought were possible. Thanks.

 

[Kelpie]

I Love Watching It, and I think the reason for "A Big Ball o' Plasma" under his forum name

Here is the thread that started it all
http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=5727

 

[MAraujo]

ha....I had no idea there was already such a lengthy thread on this subject...this exact subject. I should have more faith in searches.

 

[Arrowstar]

It was going to be a competition at one point, I believe. Agentgonzo was truly the master at the KSC->WIA run with the XR2, and many of the strategies we used were his. Of course, keep in mind that some of those techniques were used primarily for speed and would likely not be used on a commercial flight (such as flying heads down).

 

[Linguofreak]

What kind of profile should an efficient short range sub-orbl flight have?[/B]

Apogee of 6 inches to a foot, range of 3-5 feet, time of flight of less than 1 second. No rocket required. Athletes may do better. :lol: