Air-launch-to-orbit

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Orbital's Stargazer launches Pegasus carrying the three Space Technology 5 satellites in the skies

of California, 2006

Air launch to orbit is the method of launching rockets at altitude from a conventional

horizontal-takeoff aircraft, to carry satellites to low Earth orbit. It is a follow-on
development of air launches of experimental aircraft that began in the late 1940s. This
method, when employed for orbital payload insertion, presents significant advantages
over conventional vertical rocket launches, particularly because of the reduced mass,
thrust and cost of the rocket.
Air launching is also being developed for sub-orbital spaceflight. In 2004 the Ansari X
Prize $10 Million purse was won by a team led by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites,
launching the SpaceShipOne from the purpose-built White Knight carrier aircraft.

Contents

 1Advantages

 2Criticisms

 3Air launch systems

 4See also
  5References

 6External links

Advantages[edit]
The principal advantage of a rocket being launched by a high flying airplane is that it
need not fly through the low, dense atmosphere, the drag of which requires a
considerable[1] amount of extra work and thus mass of propellant. Higher densities at
lower altitudes result in larger drag forces acting on the vehicle. In addition, thrust is lost
due to over-expansion of the exhaust at high ambient pressure and under-expansion at
low ambient pressure; a fixed nozzle geometry cannot provide optimal exhaust
expansion over the full range of ambient pressure, and represents a compromise
solution. Rockets launched from high altitude can be optimized for lower ambient
pressure, thus achieving greater thrust over the entire operating regime.
Propellant is conserved because the air-breathing carrier aircraft lifts the rocket to
altitude much more efficiently. Airplane engines do not require on-board storage of
an oxidizer and they can use the surrounding air to produce thrust, for example with
a turbofan. This allows the launch system to conserve a significant amount of mass that
would otherwise be reserved for fuel, reducing the overall size. A larger fraction of the
rocket mass can then include payload, reducing payload launch costs. It is also possible
to make use of higher-impulse fuels precluded from surface launches due to their
toxicity, such as those containing beryllium or fluorine.
Air launch to orbit offers the potential for aircraft-like operations such as launch on
demand, and is also less subject to launch-constraining weather. This allows the aircraft
to fly around weather conditions as well as fly to better launch points, and to launch a
payload into any orbital inclination at any time. Insurance costs are reduced as well,
because launches occur well away from land, and there is no need for a launch pad or
blockhouse.[citation needed]
Air launch to orbit also works well as part of a combination launch system such as a
reusable air-launched single stage to skyhook launch vehicle powered by a rocket or
rocket/ramjet/scramjet engine.
An additional benefit of air launch to orbit is a reduced delta V needed to achieve orbit.
This results in a greater payload to fuel ratio which reduces the cost per unit mass to
orbit. To further leverage the Delta V advantage, supersonic air launch to orbit has been
proposed.[2]

Criticisms[edit]
According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, air launch to orbit is limited by
aircraft size. Additionally, airplanes may generate large lateral forces which could
damage payloads.[3]
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk argued in a Q&A session that the increase in performance is
not worth the additional complexity and limitations (paragraphs added):
"…it seems like...you're high up there and so surely that's good and you're going at...0.7
or 0.8 Mach and you've got some speed and altitude, you can use a higher expansion
ratio on the nozzle, doesn't all that add up to a meaningful improvement in payload to
orbit?
"The answer is no, it does not, unfortunately. It's quite a small improvement. It's maybe
a 5% improvement in payload to orbit...and then you've got this humungous plane to
deal with. Which is just like having a stage. From SpaceX's standpoint, would it make
more sense to have a gigantic plane or to increase the size of the first stage by five
percent? Uhh, I'll take option two.
"And then, once you get beyond a certain scale, you just can't make the plane big
enough. When you drop...the rocket, you have the slight problem that you're not going
the right direction. If you look at what Orbital Sciences did with Pegasus, they have
a delta wing to do the turn maneuver but then you've got this big wing that's added a
bunch of mass and you've able to mostly, but not entirely, convert your horizontal
velocity into vertical velocity, or mostly vertical velocity, and the net is really not great." [4]

Air launch systems[edit]

Operational:

 Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (originally Orbital Sciences, then Orbital

ATK, since 2018 Northrop) Pegasus
 Virgin Orbit LauncherOne
Retired:

 NOTS-EV-1 Pilot
Under development:

 Stratolaunch (assets up for sale as of June 2019, CNBC article on archive.org)

 CubeCab [5]
 ARCASPACE[6]
 Generation Orbit Launch Services[7] - contracted for NASA NEXT[8]
 NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Towed Glider Air-Launch System
 CDTI, CNES, DLR Aldebaran (rocket)
 Antonov, Aerospace Industry Corporation of China Antonov An-225 Mriya[9]
Proposed:

 Vulcan Aerospace 75-percent-scaled Dream Chaser crew-carrying spaceplane with

rocket by Orbital Sciences[10]
 OREL [uk] (proposed by Ukraine)
 Sura [uk] (proposed by Ukraine)
Abandoned projects:

 DARPA ALASA
  AirLaunch LLC
 MAKS
 Ishim[11]
 Svityaz [uk][11]
 Orbital Sciences Pegasus II – contracted design/build for Stratolaunch Systems[12]
 Swiss Space Systems SOAR
 XCOR Aerospace Lynx Mark III
 Falcon 9 Air Developed 2011-2012, In partnership
between SpaceX and Stratolaunch systems

See also[edit]
 NOTS-EV-1 Pilot
 NOTS-EV-2 Caleb
 Buoyant space port
 Rockoon
 Launch vehicle types by launch platform

References[edit]
1. ^ "Flight Mechanics of Manned Sub-Orbital Reusable Launch Vehicles with
Recommendations for Launch and Recovery".
2. ^ "Conceptual Design of a Supersonic Air-launch System"  (PDF).  Archived  (PDF) from the
original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
3. ^ Norris, Guy (15 February 2015). "Design Space". Aviation Week and Space
Technology(Volume 177 Number 2).
4. ^ "Transcript - Elon Musk lecture at the Royal Aeronautical Society".  Shit Elon Says. Archived
from  the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March  2016.
5. ^ "Technologies".  Archived  from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved  2015-12-01.
6. ^ ARCA Space, Haas Orbital Rocket Launcher Archived 2012-07-22 at the Wayback
Machine fact sheet, Dec. 2, 2008 (accessed 22 Sept 2014)
7. ^ Leone, Dan (November 26, 2013).  "Startup Generation Orbit Launch Service Bets Big on
'Small Space'".
8. ^ Diller, George (September 30, 2013). "NASA Awards First CubeSat-Class Launch Services
Contract". Archived from the original on September 30, 2013.
9. ^ Borys, Christian (7 May 2017).  "The world's biggest plane may have a new mission".
BBC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved  20 October 2017.
10. ^ Gebhardt, Chris (2014-11-26).  "SNC, Stratolaunch expand on proposed Dream Chaser
flights". NASASpaceFlight.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-
11-27.
11. ^ Jump up to:a b Russia, Kazakhstan to develop unique space system Archived 2013-02-09 at
the Wayback Machine: "Ukrainian experts moved to develop the Svityaz system based on
the An-225 Mriya (Dream) Cossack jumbo transport plane and the Zenit-2 rocket", "The Ishim
complex will include two MiG-31I aircraft, a three-stage launch vehicle on a streamlined store
between engine nacelles, as well as an Ilyushin Il-76MD Midas surveillance plane."
12. ^ Bergin, Chris (2013-05-25). "Stratolaunch and Orbital – The Height of Air
Launch".  NASASpaceFlight.com.  Archived  from the original on 2013-06-08. Retrieved  2013-
05-24.
External links[edit]
 Media related to Air launch to orbit at Wikimedia Commons


A Study of Air Launch Methods for RLVs (AIAA 2001-4619)

Low Cost Launch of Payloads to Low Earth Orbit

Illini Space Jet
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Launch vehicle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
"Satellite launch vehicle" redirects here. For the Indian rocket, see Satellite Launch
Vehicle.
 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve
this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Launch vehicle" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August
2009) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Russian Soyuz TMA-5 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan heading for the International
Space Station

A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket-propelled vehicle used to carry

a payload from Earth's surface to space, usually to Earth orbit or beyond. A launch
system includes the launch vehicle, launch pad, vehicle assembly and fuelling
systems, range safety, and other related infrastructure.[1][not verified in body]
Orbital launch vehicles can be grouped based on many different factors, most
notably payload mass, although price points are a major concern for some users. Most
launch vehicles have been developed by or for national space programs, with
considerable national prestige attached to spaceflight accomplishments. Payloads
include crewed spacecraft, satellites, robotic spacecraft, scientific probes, landers,
rovers, and many more.
Orbital spaceflight is difficult and expensive, with progress limited by the
underlying technology as much as human and societal factors.

Contents

 1Mass to orbit
 2General information
o 2.1Launch platform locations
 o 2.2Flight regimes
o 2.3Distributed launch
 3See also
 4References
 5External links

Mass to orbit[edit]
Launch vehicles are classed by NASA according to low Earth orbit payload capability:[2]

 Small-lift launch vehicle: < 2,000 kilograms

(4,400 lb) - e.g. Vega[3]
 Medium-lift launch vehicle: 2,000 to 20,000
kilograms (4,400 to 44,100 lb) - e.g. Soyuz ST[4]
 Heavy-lift launch vehicle: > 20,000 to 50,000
kilograms (44,000 to 110,000 lb) - e.g. Ariane 5[4]
 Super-heavy lift vehicle: > 50,000 kilograms
(110,000 lb) - e.g. Saturn V [5]
Sounding rockets are similar to small-lift launch vehicles, however they are usually even
smaller and do not place payloads into orbit. A modified SS-520 sounding rocket was
used to place a 4-kilogram payload (TRICOM-1R) into orbit in 2018.[6]

General information[edit]
Orbital spaceflight requires a satellite or spacecraft payload to be accelerated to very
high velocity. In the vacuum of space, reaction forces must be provided by the ejection
of mass, resulting in the rocket equation. The physics of spaceflight are such that rocket
stages are typically required to achieve the desired orbit.
Expendable launch vehicles are designed for one-time use, with boosters that usually
separate from their payload and disintegrate during atmospheric reentry or on contact
with the ground. In contrast, reusable launch vehicle boosters are designed to be
recovered intact and launched again. The Falcon 9 is an example reusable launch
vehicle.[7]
For example, the European Space Agency is responsible for the Ariane V, and
the United Launch Alliance manufactures and launches the Delta IV and Atlas
V rockets.
Launch platform locations[edit]
Launchpads can be located on land (spaceport), on a fixed ocean platform (San Marco),
on a mobile ocean platform (Sea Launch), and on a submarine. Launch vehicles can
also be launched from the air.
Flight regimes[edit]
See also: Sub-orbital spaceflight, Orbital spaceflight, Trans-lunar injection,
and Interplanetary spaceflight
A launch vehicle will start off with its payload at some location on the surface of the
Earth. To reach orbit, the vehicle must travel vertically to leave the atmosphere and
horizontally to prevent re-contacting the ground. The required velocity varies depending
on the orbit but will always be extreme when compared to velocities encountered in
normal life.
Launch vehicles provide varying degrees of performance. For example, a satellite
bound for Geostationary orbit (GEO) can either be directly inserted by the upper
stage of the launch vehicle or launched to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). A direct
insertion places greater demands on the launch vehicle, while GTO is more demanding
of the spacecraft. Once in orbit, launch vehicle upper stages and satellites can have
overlapping capabilities, although upper stages tend to have orbital lifetimes measured
in hours or days while spacecraft can last decades.
Distributed launch[edit]
Distributed launch involves the accomplishment of a goal with multiple spacecraft
launches. A large spacecraft such as the International Space Station can be
constructed by assembling modules in orbit, or in-space propellant transfer conducted
to greatly increase the delta-V capabilities of a cislunar or deep space vehicle.
Distributed launch enables space missions that are not possible with single launch
architectures.[8]
Mission architectures for distributed launch were explored in the 2000s [9] and launch
vehicles with integrated distributed launch capability built in began development in 2017
with the Starship design. The standard Starship launch architecture is to refuel the
spacecraft in low Earth orbit to enable the craft to send high-mass payloads on much
more energetic missions.[10]

See also[edit]

 Spaceflight portal

 Air launch to orbit

 Sounding rocket
 List of orbital launch systems
 Comparison of orbital launch systems
 List of space launch system designs
 List of human spaceflights
 Timeline of spaceflight
 Rocket launch
 Space logistics
 Space exploration
 NewSpace
References[edit]
1. ^ See for example: "NASA Kills 'Wounded' Launch System
Upgrade at KSC". Florida Today. Archived from  the
original on 2002-10-13.
2. ^ NASA Space Technology Roadmaps - Launch Propulsion
Systems, p.11: "Small: 0-2t payloads, Medium: 2-20t
payloads, Heavy: 20-50t payloads, Super Heavy: >50t
payloads"
3. ^ "Launch services—milestones". Arianespace. Retrieved 19
August  2014.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b "Welcome to French
Guiana"  (PDF).  arianespace.com. Arianespace. Archived
from  the original  (PDF)  on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 19
August  2014.
5. ^ HSF Final Report: Seeking a Human Spaceflight Program
Worthy of a Great Nation, October 2009, Review of U.S.
Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, p. 64-66: "5.2.1 The
Need for Heavy Lift ... require a “super heavy-lift” launch
vehicle ... range of 25 to 40 mt, setting a notional lower limit
on the size of the super heavy-lift launch vehicle if refueling is
available ... this strongly favors a minimum heavy-lift capacity
of roughly 50 mt ..."
6. ^ "SS-520".  space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved  2020-06-02.
7. ^ Lindsey, Clark (28 March 2013).  "SpaceX moving quickly
towards fly-back first stage".  NewSpace Watch. Retrieved  29
March  2013.
8. ^ Kutter, Bernard; Monda, Eric; Wenner, Chauncey; Rhys,
Noah (2015). Distributed Launch - Enabling Beyond LEO
Missions  (PDF). AIAA 2015. American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. Retrieved  23 March 2018.
9. ^ Chung, Victoria I.; Crues, Edwin Z.; Blum, Mike G.; Alofs,
Cathy (2007). An Orion/Ares I Launch and Ascent Simulation
- One Segment of the Distributed Space Exploration
Simulation (DSES)  (PDF). AIAA 2007. American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics. Retrieved  23 March 2018.
10. ^ Foust, Jeff (29 September 2017). "Musk unveils revised
version of giant interplanetary launch system". SpaceNews.
Retrieved 23 March  2018.

External links[edit]
Wikidata has the property:

  space launch
vehicle
(P375) (see uses)

 S. A. Kamal, A. Mirza: The Multi-Stage-Q System

and the Inverse-Q System for Possible application in
 SLV, Proc. IBCAST 2005, Volume 3, Control and
Simulation, Edited by Hussain SI, Munir A, Kiyani J,
Samar R, Khan MA, National Center for Physics,
Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp 27–33 Free Full
Text
 S. A. Kamal: Incorporating Cross-Range Error in the
Lambert Scheme, Proc. 10th National Aeronautical
Conf., Edited by Sheikh SR, Khan AM, Pakistan Air
Force Academy, Risalpur, KP, Pakistan, 2006, pp
255–263 Free Full Text
 S. A. Kamal: The Multi-Stage-Lambert Scheme for
Steering a Satellite-Launch Vehicle, Proc. 12th IEEE
INMIC, Edited by Anis MK, Khan MK, Zaidi SJH,
Bahria Univ., Karachi, Pakistan, 2008, pp 294–300
(invited paper) Free Full Text
 S. A. Kamal: Incompleteness of Cross-Product
Steering and a Mathematical Formulation of
Extended-Cross-Product Steering, Proc. IBCAST
2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials, Computational
Fluid Dynamics and Control Engineering, Edited by
Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar R, Zahir S, National
Center for Physics, Bhurban, KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp
167–177 Free Full Text
 S. A. Kamal: Dot-Product Steering: A New Control
Law for Satellites and Spacecrafts [sic], Proc.
IBCAST 2002, Volume 1, Advanced Materials,
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Control
Engineering, Edited by Hoorani HR, Munir A, Samar
R, Zahir S, National Center for Physics, Bhurban,
KP, Pakistan, 2003, pp 178–184 Free Full Text
 S. A. Kamal: Ellipse-Orientation Steering: A Control
Law for Spacecrafts [sic] and Satellite-Launch
Vehicles, Space Science and the Challenges of the
twenty-First Century, ISPA-SUPARCO Collaborative
Seminar, Univ. of Karachi, 2005 (invited paper)
 Time lapse captured from a satellite of a rocket
carrying 35 satellites
show

Orbital launch systems

show
 Spaceflight
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Private spaceflight is spaceflight or the development of spaceflight technology that is

conducted and paid for by an entity other than a government agency.