Why do space rockets not take off like planes (i.e. straight up vs sideways and up)?
In: 41
The real ‘why’ is because the goal of a rocket is very different from the goal of a plane.
A plane wants to travel a distance and do it efficiently. To do this it uses jets which breathe air and it uses the atmosphere for lift. That means it doesn’t have to carry oxidizer and it can rely on wings rather than pure thrust to stay in the air, but because its in the air it has a big limitation on top speed.
The goal of a rocket is basically just top speed; get fast enough to orbit the planet. To achieve this they try to get out of the atmosphere quickly and that means they can’t rely on it for lift or oxidizer.
That being said there have been attempts at ‘space planes’ that use lift and breathe oxygen while in the atmosphere, then get into space. Usually its not worth it though. You need to carry these different kinds of engines and wings around and the benefit you get from achieving normal plane speeds and heights before having to switch over to ‘rocket mode’ just isn’t worth it. Its easier to just make the first stage a big rocket and brute force through it.
Latest Answers