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
There have been experiments with so called spaceplanes. The problem with them is that in order to reach orbit and leave the atmosphere they need to get really high and fast. Using aerodynamics to fly really high is contrary to get really fast, because the higher you get, the thinner the air becomes, yet you’re not nearly as fast as you need to be for orbit. So you need to accelerate more and more, but still are too low to neglect air resistance. The result is that you burn much more fuel in order to get fast enough than if you just puncture straight out of the atmosphere and start turning at sufficient height.
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