Interplanetary Launch

The launch loop is intended for launch velocities below escape, and vehicles of 5 tonnes or less. Interplanetary expeditions will require far more velocity and far larger vehicles. Large interplanetary vehicles will be assembled in orbit from many - perhaps thousands - of 5 tonne components, and fueled for escape (and eventual arrival) with hundreds of additional deliveries of propellant.

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Plume Reentry

Interplanetary spacecraft will be assembled in a one-day HEEO construction orbit, with apogee at 75950 km radius, and perigee at 8378 km radius (2000 km altitude). A launch loop can launch 5 tonne vehicles and payloads to that high apogee for "kinetic energy cost", proportional to the square of the launch velocity (loop exit velocity added to earth rotation velocity, around 470 m/s at launch loop altitude).

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Mean Free Path Versus Altitude

Altitude

Temp
erature

Mean
Free
Path

. . .

Altitude

Temp
erature

Mean
Free
Path

. . .

Altitude

Temp
erature

Mean
Free
Path

km

Kelvin

km

km

K

km

km

K

km

75

208.4

9.8E-7

180

790.1

0.12

500

999.2

77

80

198.6

4.4E-6

200

854.6

0.24

550

999.7

150

90

186.9

2.4E-5

250

941.3

0.89

600

999.9

280

100

195.1

1.4E-4

300

976.0

2.6

700

1000

730

120

360.0

3.3E-3

350

990.1

6.7

800

1000

1400

140

559.6

1.8E-2

400

995.8

16

900

1000

2100

160

626.3

5.3E-2

450

998.2

36

1000

1000

3100

InterplanetaryLaunch (last edited 2020-11-12 20:00:52 by KeithLofstrom)