Are space planes possible?

Please singularity try to at least first read this link before posting.

To be honnest space planes that catch cables traveling at supersonic speeds is a possibility. On of the downsides of the space elevator that it is so long, and it has to be so long because is has to get in GEO to be anckord on earth, however the anckor could be replaced by something like a skyhook that can travel depending on the design at a very large speed because a cable that rotates the earth 2 times a day will only have to be around 1/4 th as long.
It's a possibility.
It is also possible to... reach space like

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however note that this craft can only make space hops meaning it gets into space but it can't go in orbit and it still can only take limited amounts of cargo with it.
Space blimps with ion engines have also been proposed the ID is to make a craft rise abouth the most dense atmosphere layers and use a ion engine to reach space... for the moment (and for at least a while longer) there are no such ion engines avaible or in development. However this ID can still be commercialised by using high atmosphere solar ships with enough batteries to last the night. These planes would high enough so that they can take over some task of modern satelittes because the cheapest way to launch a satellitte is still by avoiding space and doing the work on the ground (if possible)
It is however somewhat possible that (in the future) they can integrate the air breathing technique in rockets. Now rockets take all the oxygen necesairy for launch with them if ever a techique would be discovered to take the maximum of oxygen out of the atmosphere as long as possible (there no oxygen in space) then the total volume of the rocket could be brought down as would the weight of the oxygen fuel tanks be reduced. And because the rocket now weights (far) less then before, the total amount of fuel can be brought down again (not indefenitly offcourse). Making them somewhat similar like todays rockets but a whole lot cheaper.

Be aware singularity that if you keep posting/trolling the space elevator threat then I'm planning on PM'ing James until someone closses it.

 

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practical space plane will either look like Space Ship One and have some sort of more advanced fuel...

or...

It will be hypersonic air breathing perhaps, air vehicle that will look like X-43A...a scramjet

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That's going to be loud and their proberly going to be a unconfrable amount of G's

 

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Why do you think that? - if it accelerates at a steady pace for long enough it'll be hypersonic. Top speed does not necessarily relate to acceleration.

 

We need to combine the Perfluorocarbon (liquid air breathing) with these new space planes. So the pilots and passengers will be suspended in liquid and breath it.

 

And check this out. A new Boeing's design:

X-51A

http://www.flightglobal.com/assets/getAsset.aspx?ItemID=14389

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http://www.flightglobal.com/article...activity-hypersonics-research-in-the-usa.html

Anyways it seems like DARPA will be the major player here...not NASA

 

Russian scientists design an aerospace passenger plane, capable of flying at the speed of 30,000 km/h

Traveling around the world in 80 days seemed incredible in days of old. Traveling around the world in 80 minutes seems incredible today. Only cosmonauts can travel so fast. But things are changing. Specialists at the Moscow Institute developed a model of aircraft that is capably of carrying passengers and cargo to any location of the planet at a speed undreamed-of by modern aviators.


“The aircraft designed by the institute falls under the class of aerospaceplanes,” says the director of the above institute. “It will use a usual runway for taking off and landing, like a usual airplane. But it will fly like a manned spacecraft when in midair,” adds he.

The space plane will be able to reach a speed of 30,000 km per hour. According to researchers' estimates, such a speed will enable the space plane to fly from Moscow to Paris in 20 min, from Moscow to New York in 50 min, and from Moscow to Sydney in one hour and six minutes.

English.Pravda.ru

 

name of the vehicle

name of designer

link

 

Regardless of what is possible, we have to consider the practicality and (the greatest limiting factor of all) money involved.

If you plan to design something the fundamental question is always going to be "why are you designing it?"

Design and elegance and "ooh" and "ah" factor are fine and dandy, but if the damn thing is practically valueless, then investing in it beyond some simple diagrams is counterproductive.

Average cost of a coach plane ticket to get from Chicago to Dublin in oh, let's say 8 hours: $250 (not sure the real values, but these will work for now...)

Average cost to do it in a space plane so you can tell your friends you were in space for fifteen minutes (being bombarded by radiation and exponentially increasing the risk factor - and the insurance involved in taking the trip) might be, oh, let's say $5,000.

Current cost (estimated) to embark on a commercial space jump: $3500.

That's a real business someone is launching in the next year or two...

Now you start going places with it...initial cost is going to be phenomenal. It will have a novelty factor and there will be a niche market among the disgustingly rich.

But for you and me, and pretty much everyone earning less that $6million per annum, it's going to make a hell of a lot more sense to simply hop on a 747 and invest in a good book.

Do we really need to reach Hong Kong in 15 minutes?!

 

hmmm yes...

 

well now-days business is worldwide, the faster the better.

 

Video Conferencing.

 

lame, at billion/million dollar deals...you needs to see those eyes and hug hands.

 

Is it possible, sure. Many things are physically, theoretically possible but a vast majority of them (the overwhelming majority) haven't happened because of the great cost of building the required machinery, etc.

Worldwide conversion to nuclear power with a planned transition to an entirely solar (and wind and water) based power grid is definitely possible, and theoretically we will have the technology to replace ALL fossil fuels with sustainable sources within the lifetime of most 20-somethings...

But you have the problem of Big Energy and all of the billions of dollars wrapped up in selling us the current product. On the national level it's a major political quagmire, but at the very basic level it's all about money - i.e. it's too costly to the people who would have to bear the cost; people who might lose their priveledged positions and their incalculable fortunes if our species advanced the way it most definitely can, consumer who would undoubtedly complain about high energy costs due to rate hikes imposed by the aforementioned billionaires, etc.

Space planes are possible - they were possible 50 years ago, but there would have to be a very significant economic incentive for that technology to be developed and for widespread usage to occur.

 

If you want a prime example of what's possible vs what actually happens, look at nuclear weapons.

The theoretical basis for developing nuclear weapons existed in the 1910's. The technology was sort of a fun discussion topic for Physicists over beer throughout the 1920's and 1930's.

Then Hitler rose to power and was overtly seizing Uranium resources from Chekoslovakia.

Given that impetus to invest, the US government had a working nuke in about 7 years. Two different types, in fact, and a third - the hydrogen bomb - a few short years later (early fifties...)

If the money is there, it will happen.

 

Sure but it also pays to use technology that can be used in many other vehicles. The development for such a craft could require a lot of unique hardware that is only necesairy in that particulair vehicle that's not going to be usefull ones the total vehicle is complete (and there could be a couple of years inbetween)

 

Unfortunately, moving liquid in and out of the lungs is much, much harder than moving air. The human body cannot cope with it. Luckily, that's just one solution out of many to one problem in the way of space colonisation.

 

Why? Acceleration can be kept low but sustained, adding a liquid would increase the mass and reduce payload or increase vehicle size.

 

You don't provide a link, or anything salient that we can use to find this story. In fact, the _only_ hit I get Googling the text, is your post!

Anyway, designing a spacecraft is a world away from flying it. Just look at how many craft were designed by NASA but never flew. Take the X-20 DynaSoar, for instance.

So this is no news day. Get back to us when tickets are available and affordable

 

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