A spacecraft that takes off on a runway, with rocket engines that do not require external oxygen, seems like a safer approach to get off the ground than being strapped to a controlled explosion.
In: Physics
To put it simply: *VSS Unity* does not break out of the Earth’s gravity. Today’s spaceflight only lasted a few minutes because the Earth’s gravity pulled the spaceplane right back down into the atmosphere.
When you think of a vehicle “escaping gravity,” what’s usually happening is that the vehicle has achieved *orbit.* This does not mean it escapes gravity, but instead means that the vehicle is moving sideways so fast that the Earth’s curved surface drops away faster than the vehicle can fall.
>A spacecraft […] with rocket engines that do not require external oxygen, seems like a safer approach to get off the ground than being strapped to a controlled explosion.
*VSS Unity* is propelled by a rocket engine that contains its own onboard oxidizer, creating a continuous controlled explosion. Sure, the mothership uses regular jet engines, but there’s just no way to get people into space that doesn’t involve rockets engines at some stage.
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