How Small Can a Launch Vehicle Be?
Trajectory simulations from Earth to orbit indicate comparative velocity requirements depending on vehicle size, for several propellant options. Smaller vehicles are more affected by drag, resulting in steeper trajectories that require more total velocity. Although they are technically challenging, launch vehicles smaller than 1 ton are not ruled out by the nature of ascent trajectories.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 875650
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-CONF-213232; TRN: US200603%%171
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at: 41st AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, Tucson, AZ, United States, Jul 10 - Jul 13, 2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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