Questions tagged [sub-orbital]
Questions involving trajectories that reach space but do not attain orbit.
63
questions
3
votes
1
answer
62
views
What are the differences between Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-S and Vikram-1?
Skyroot Aerospace (an Indian aerospace startup ) is ready to launch its first launch vehicle Vikram-S, which is the suborbital version of Vikram-1.
What are the differences in flight hardware between ...
- 2,596
1
vote
1
answer
180
views
Gravity Calculation Inaccurate?
For the past week, I've been working on an Effective Gravitational Acceleration calculator on Desmos. This calculator ignores drag and assumes that a rocket is flying up completely straight.
What this ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
183
views
Future Plasma-Scramjet engines: If/how they could be used in the launching of spacecraft
Recently I took a look at this paper:
“Electrically Driven Supersonic Combustion”, Energies 2018, 11, 1733; doi:10.3390/en11071733 https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/7/1733
It made me think about ...
3
votes
0
answers
89
views
Temperature distribution of air around a rocket
I am doing some simulations in ANSYS Fluent of a rocket traveling at speed of 100 m/s at an altitude of 12000 m where the surroundings temperature is 216.7 K. The image above is the temperature ...
- 31
0
votes
2
answers
642
views
Why doesn't NASA fly its rockets on suborbital trajectories to the Moon?
After trying it out in Kerbal Space Program for a while, I was wondering why NASA doesn't fly on suborbital trajectories to the Moon. When I tested this idea in Kerbal Space Program I found out that ...
- 3,789
3
votes
1
answer
107
views
Targeted Sub-Orbital Optimization Problem
I was messing around with some orbital dynamics for a simulator I am working on, and I came across a snag that I have not been able to figure out. Specifically, I am trying to minimize the required ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
114
views
What kind of rocket design would be used for Lunar/Mars E2E travel when colonized?
If/When Mars or the moon are colonized, transport will be needed between bases. Over long distances, rovers would be too slow and traditional aircraft would not work well in thin to non existent ...
- 43
3
votes
1
answer
146
views
OPS 0855 Gemini B Separation
On 3 November 1966 a modified Titan IIC launched from LC-40 in Cape Canaveral. This launch would be the only launch as part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program. Designated OPS 0855 the vehicle ...
- 1,074
3
votes
2
answers
538
views
Calculating the projectile of rocket using RCS to tilt the flight path
If I have main solid rocket with 800 N Thrust, 9 kg in total and has RCS thrusters 0.5 m from the center mass. Mid flight the RCS with 1 N force is activated for 2 sec. How does it affect the flight ...
- 347
2
votes
1
answer
230
views
Why are my empirical and theoretical value of mass flow rate in solid propellant rockets not similar?
For a rocket of:
fuel mass $m_f$ = 6 kg,
Thrust = 3.1 kN, (vs 4k using reducing catalyst to delay burn time)
total powered burn time, $t_b$ = 3.5 s, (using reducing catalyst vs 1.8 sec)
This ...
- 347
2
votes
0
answers
176
views
Why did Blue Origin make 5 times more flight tests than Virgin Galactic before sending their founders (Jeff Bezos for BO, R. Branson for VG) to space?
https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521631717122059 (mirror):
Why did Blue Origin make 5 times more flight tests than Virgin Galactic before sending their founders (Jeff Bezos for BO, Richard ...
- 1,064
14
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Why does Blue Origin claim Virgin Galactic's spaceplane doesn’t have an escape system whereas Virgin Galactic's passengers are wearing parachutes?
https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1413521631717122059 (mirror):
vs. https://space.stackexchange.com/a/54072/1111 by John Thomas:
[Virgin Galactic's passengers] do appear to be wearing parachutes....
- 1,064
5
votes
0
answers
104
views
What would it take to bring VSS Unity over the Kármán line?
There's been a great deal debate about Virgin Galactic calling 50 miles "space", while most use a 100 km Kármán line definition for the term. VSS Unity has exceeded 89 km altitude on two ...
- 1,597
2
votes
1
answer
112
views
How can I calculate the weight a aero-spacecraft occupant experiences during sub-orbital but non-ballistic trajectories?
Once in orbit, astronauts experience "weightlessness" relative to their capsule or space station because they are moving at the same orbital velocity as the surrounding spacecraft.
I have ...
- 190
1
vote
0
answers
67
views
What percentage of the population can pass Virgin Galactic's training sessions for tourists to board a sub-orbital spaceflight?
I read on https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/26/space-tourism-how-spacex-virgin-galactic-blue-origin-axiom-compete.html (mirror):
Additionally, Virgin Galactic has said that passengers will spend three ...
- 1,064
2
votes
1
answer
193
views
How long do the ascent and the descent of Virgin Galactic's spacecraft take?
The VMS Eve mothership releases the VSS Unity spacecraft after ca. 48 minutes. The total duration is approximately 2 hours. As a result, the ascent time + the descent time that the Virgin Galactic's ...
- 1,064
2
votes
1
answer
425
views
Are Virgin Galactic tourists asked to take a 6 to 8G centrifuge test to qualify, and if so, what's the point?
Regarding sub-orbital spaceflights with Virgin Galactic,
claims that:
Allegedly some travelers were asked to take a 6 to 8G centrifuge test to qualify
Is that true, ...
- 1,064
5
votes
1
answer
473
views
Do the passengers in Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft have a parachute or some other way to escape the spacecraft if needs be?
Do the passengers in Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft have a parachute or some other way to escape the spacecraft if needs be?
In the VSS Enterprise crash that occurred on October 31, 2014, the ...
- 1,064
0
votes
1
answer
306
views
Why isn't the engine's Case-Throat-Nozzle reusable in Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo?
I raed on https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/engine-powering-future-civilian-spaceflight-enters-collections-180971493/ (mirror):
RocketMotorTwo is a hybrid rocket motor that ...
- 1,064
4
votes
0
answers
135
views
Which components are non-reusable after a sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic?
I wonder which components are non-reusable after a sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic.
What I have found so far:
https://www.virgingalactic.com/learn/ (mirror):
With the exception of the ...
- 1,064
1
vote
3
answers
243
views
What kind of badge will tourists who performed a sub-orbital spaceflight receive?
I have read that tourists who performed a sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic will receive some kind of astronaut badge. However, on the Wikipedia page on the United States Astronaut Badge, ...
- 1,064
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Could the SpaceShipOne fly again?
A similar question to that one, but this one is concerning the suborbital SpaceShipOne spaceplane. Could it be reactivated for space tourism or other purposes? I remember in 2011 some sources stated ...
- 479
1
vote
0
answers
85
views
Which X-15 and SpaceShipOne flights took Coriolis forces into account on their flight path?
I wonder whether those X-15 and SpaceShipOne flights that reached space took into account the rotational Coriolis forces, so that they wouldn't reenter above a location where it would be too far from ...
- 428
2
votes
1
answer
363
views
Could the Space X "Starship" be modified for point to point travel on Earth?
After seeing recent successes with the SN5 prototype, powered with very inexpensive LNG, designed to carry 100+ people, is this ... an airliner?
A suborbital Starship could make trans Atlantic and ...
2
votes
0
answers
95
views
Is suborbital point-to-point flight on the SpaceShipTwo possible?
As of until now, both the SpaceShipTwo and its retired predecessor the SpaceShipOne, landed on the same spaceport they launched from in their spaceflights, the Mojave air- and spaceport. I wonder ...
- 428
2
votes
0
answers
49
views
Has a suborbital rendezvous ever been mentioned in a serious mission proposal/study? [duplicate]
This is an odd one that's been in the back of my head for a while. Consider the LOR architecture of the Apollo missions. To return to earth from the lunar surface, it is most mass-efficient to have ...
- 10.3k
7
votes
6
answers
3k
views
What is the highest possible altitude of a sub-orbital flight?
If you launch a rocket 101 km high and it doesn't reach orbital velocity then it will return to Earth without completing an orbit. Even though it reached outer space.
But if you launch it 10 million ...
- 2,560
0
votes
1
answer
213
views
Can Virgin Galactic's Orbital ship reach ISS
We have all come across theories, concepts proposed missions of orbit tour as a part of space tourism. One such company is Virgin Galactic. I have had read that the SpaceShip2 will have merely 6 mins ...
- 482
5
votes
1
answer
676
views
What was the point of the Redstone rocket when there was the X-15 rocketplane?
Just a curiousity question, so don't get me wrong for I very much admire and have high respect towards the entire Mercury project, Alan Shepard (the first American in space, a national hero) and Gus ...
- 2,213
1
vote
0
answers
293
views
What's the minimum speed for a spaceplane to reach outer space? [closed]
From a realistic point of view there must be a minimum speed in order to reach space in a suborbital spacecraft, let's say in a spaceplane. Like there's a first cosmic velocity (for orbit) and a 2nd ...
- 2,213
1
vote
3
answers
313
views
How many hours long is Earth's longest possible sub-orbital flight?
This comment below How long will last the Blue Origin New Shepard space flight? says (in part):
The words "suborbital spaceflight" as the first words on Blue Origin's webpage for the New Shepard ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
232
views
What materials should I use to make a suborbital amateur rocket and where can I buy them? [closed]
I’m trying to make a suborbital rocket to get some pictures of the Earth but I’m not sure what material’s to use and where to get them. I’ve been thinking of titanium for the shell but I’m not sure ...
- 11
4
votes
2
answers
389
views
Why didn't Project Mercury advance to an orbital flight on their second mission?
Manned programs are noted for progressing through a series of flights. Early missions focus on basic hardware and simple tasks; as the technology becomes proven, the scope and duration of later ...
- 47.3k
2
votes
3
answers
423
views
Is there any kind of research on *sub*-orbital rendezvous-ing with a space tug outside the atmosphere?
The key difference with a plain old-fashioned orbital rendezvous would seem to be that there'd be limited time to only briefly match velocities and trajectories:
Let's say a vehicle launched from ...
- 73
4
votes
1
answer
223
views
How does launching suborbital payloads on New Shepard compare to sounding rockets?
Nine NASA payloads will be launched on the upcoming New Shepard mission (NS-10) into a suborbital trajectory. How does launching them on New Shepard compare to using traditional sounding rockets? Why ...
- 3,372
11
votes
1
answer
570
views
Did the crew of Soyuz MS-10 pass the Karman Line?
Just wondering if Nick Hague got his gold astronaut wings.
- 171k
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the delta-V equivalent to cross the Kármán line in vertical (suborbital) flight?
...or, well, for a typical example - how much delta-V does New Shepard carry?
For orbital launches, there's the ~1km/s estimate to overcome drag and gravitational losses on orbital launches; 8km/s of ...
- 54.1k
12
votes
1
answer
588
views
Did Soviets/Russians perform any crewed (intentionally) suborbital flights?
Gagarin went directly to the orbit - the first manned flight was orbital. I don't know about any other Soviet or Russian spaceflights that wouldn't be orbital - except for some odd aborted launch or ...
- 54.1k
9
votes
2
answers
943
views
Falcon 9 maximum point-to-point landing range
Has anyone here ever done enough back-of-the-envelope math to come up with a rough estimate of the maximum landing range of the F9 first stage? I'm talking unladen-swallow-quality math here -- trying ...
- 371
1
vote
4
answers
2k
views
g-forces of suborbital versus orbital passenger travel
I would like to pose a fact-checking question about this article, which is about the Musk/SpaceX idea of using rockets for travel between terrestrial locations.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/29/...
- 16.2k
16
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Is 678 km the new altitude record for a rocket shot "straight up" (vertical launch)?
The Space Daily April 10th Rocket Science item Europe's largest sounding rocket launched from Esrange says:
MAXUS 9, Europe's largest sounding rocket for experiments in microgravity, successfully ...
- 149k
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why does Blue Origin land the crew capsule separate from the booster?
New Shepard of Blue Origin separates the crew capsule from the booster. The crew capsule is in free fall for a while, then the parachutes open and finally the landing rockets give a brief impulse to ...
- 26.7k
4
votes
0
answers
165
views
How will a suborbital flight country to country work?
If a suborbital flight from NY to Beijing will cover about 7k miles in an hour, what will that trajectory be and at what speed (including the Earth's rotation)? Will most of the flight be above the ...
- 41
3
votes
1
answer
439
views
How high can a sounding rocket launch and for how long time can it put a payload in freefall microgravity?
Sounding rockets or suborbital launches basically go straight up and then fall down without entering orbit. That requires much less fuel mass than to achieve 8,000 m/s or so orbital velocity.
For how ...
- 26.7k
4
votes
1
answer
379
views
What are the main synergies between sub-orbital and orbital space launch?
A number of companies are working on suborbital flight with Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and XCOR being among the most recognized today. I don't ask here about what actual plans different companies ...
- 26.7k
2
votes
1
answer
212
views
Shape of an orbit inside a planet
If you are orbiting below the surface of a planet, and ignore drag from rocks (or orbit in a vacuum tunnel), what is the shape of the orbit? Usually, the proportionality law for gravity is $\frac{1}{r^...
6
votes
1
answer
173
views
Is high velocity feathered configuration reentry possible?
Feather configuration for reentry used in SpaceshipOne, they say, significantly reduces heat loads on reentry by encountering most drag and significantly reducing a large amount kinetic energy at much ...
- 1,792
20
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Do you need a heat shield to enter the atmosphere from non-orbital speeds?
Let's say you launched a rocket straight up, not intending to go into orbit. At its apogee, the rocket is (say) 200 km above the earth: high enough (though certainly not fast enough) for LEO.
Would ...
- 3,950
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What altitude would an ocean crossing sub-orbital flight need to reach?
So, let's save some travel time and throw a spaceship, rather than an airplane, across the Atlantic or Pacific ocean on a ballistic trajectory. How high would it have to go? How high do the doomsday ...
- 26.7k
4
votes
1
answer
440
views
Why does the WhiteKnight2 of Virgin Galactic have so large fuselages?
Since the White Knight Two doesn't transport passengers or cargo, why does it even have a fuselage? Wouldn't a purely wing shaped aircraft be better? Is it simply more convenient to use an existing ...
- 26.7k