- #1
prankster
- 4
- 0
helloo! i have an idea that I've been thinking of and i'd like to get some opinion of its validity.
imagine 4 hydrogen balloons (like those used to carry weather instruments), arranged in a square with one balloon on each corner. imagine in the middle, suspended by cables below the balloons is a rocket. the rocket will have multiple stages, 1st being a lower power stage, followed by maximum power stage, and finally a long burn medium power stage.
situation is as follows: release the apparatus , and the balloons carry the unit to ~90,000'. at that point the balloons are nearing their critical bursting point. the 1st lower power stage activates to creep the rocket up to the center of the balloons ( 3 stabilizer rockets at the top of the main rocket handle the rockets angle at this point) meanwhile the lines are severed.
once the rocket clears the balloons, the main engine is ignited carrying the rocket further into Earth orbit. when the 3rd stage ignites, the rocket is maneuvered into a roll and a stable orbit ensues.
the actual rocket would not have to be so heavy, because the main obstacle of overcoming the Earth's gravity is done by the balloons. so i pose the following questions:
1) is this feasible?
2) is this scalable?
3) at what altitude does the Earth's gravitational 9.8m/s^2 reduce to an advantage? (at this altitude of 90,000' i calculate 9.7368m/s^2)
thanks! I've had this idea on my mind for quite a while, so any feedback (including telling me its rubbish) will be helpful!
imagine 4 hydrogen balloons (like those used to carry weather instruments), arranged in a square with one balloon on each corner. imagine in the middle, suspended by cables below the balloons is a rocket. the rocket will have multiple stages, 1st being a lower power stage, followed by maximum power stage, and finally a long burn medium power stage.
situation is as follows: release the apparatus , and the balloons carry the unit to ~90,000'. at that point the balloons are nearing their critical bursting point. the 1st lower power stage activates to creep the rocket up to the center of the balloons ( 3 stabilizer rockets at the top of the main rocket handle the rockets angle at this point) meanwhile the lines are severed.
once the rocket clears the balloons, the main engine is ignited carrying the rocket further into Earth orbit. when the 3rd stage ignites, the rocket is maneuvered into a roll and a stable orbit ensues.
the actual rocket would not have to be so heavy, because the main obstacle of overcoming the Earth's gravity is done by the balloons. so i pose the following questions:
1) is this feasible?
2) is this scalable?
3) at what altitude does the Earth's gravitational 9.8m/s^2 reduce to an advantage? (at this altitude of 90,000' i calculate 9.7368m/s^2)
thanks! I've had this idea on my mind for quite a while, so any feedback (including telling me its rubbish) will be helpful!