Reply To: network security
The Focus Fusion Society › Forums › Lawrenceville Plasma Physics Experiment (LPPX) › Space and Aerospace Design in a Focus Fusion World › Reply To: network security
vansigbelbear42 wrote: The main problem of getting in space (LEO, at least) is not reaching a certain altitude, it’s reaching a certain velocity (about 7 km/sec) and once you are above an altitude where wings provide lift, you have accelerate to orbital speed within a given time with a given minimal acceleration or else you will simply fall back to Earth.
Yes, space ship 2 reaches its max speed of mach 3.5 after a 70-second burn and coasts up to its 110km max altitude.
This is way short of orbital velocity (~mach 24), requiring (24/3.5)²=47 times as much energy.
Consuming 200kW, one VASIMR VF-200 engine will have 5N thrust, and weigh 300kg. if you’re not already at orbital velocity, this doesn’t get you there.