Basically the post title, wouldn’t it be faster to go through the atmosphere at an angle instead of pushing up through the atmosphere? Is it possible to launch a spaceship this way?
I never took high school physics so this may be an exceptionally dumb question.
Edit: Thanks for all the explanations! I understand why now
In: Physics
Space craft don’t technically go straight up, they angle themselves into an orbital trajectory but it’s just much more gradual than an aircraft.
The reason they launch straight up is that all of a rockets lift is generated by thrust of it’s engines.
Planes meanwhile use the aerodynamic lift generated by their wings to stay afloat. The engines push the plane forward, which in turn moves air over the wings, which generates lift.
And before anyone says it, certain fighter jets etc have enough thrust that they can be entirely ballistic if they want, ie go straight up like a rocket.
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