In light of the recent launches I was wondering why rockets launch straight up instead of taking of like a plane.
It seems to take so much fuel to go straight up, and in my mind I can’t see to get my head around why they don’t take off like a plane and go up gradually like that.
Edit – Spelling and grammar
Edit 2 – Thank you to everyone who responded. You have answered a life long question.
In: Physics
Another reason which I don’t think has been mentioned yet is that most rockets aren’t strong enough to support themselves horizontally. Just think about how hard it is to crush a drink can (the same shape as a rocket fuel tank) vertically verses how easy it is to crush one from the side.
Rockets can be moved around horizontally while empty but would collapse under their own weight if they were on their side and full of fuel. Making a rocket strong enough to launch horizontally would add weight and make them less efficient.
Space X was originally going to create an [air launch version of the Falcon 9](https://external-preview.redd.it/b6T7XT4Qi0KKqH5RV18G-S018R-yPQ-kUtfVynUI1w4.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=753ac5ca1a8c906aa50dd1843aacf56a40e40ac0) for the Stratolaunch company but dropped out of the project, partially because it would have been too expensive to change the Falcon design to be able to hang horizontally like that.
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