HOME | DD

Description
Round three on the spaceplane concept. The main drive is a combination of a plug nozzle for atmospheric turbofans and the fuel injector for the fusion drive. As with the others it runs in chemical mode for takeoff and landing and switches to air breathing fusion mode at high speed and high altitude to avoid endangering the ground crews. The main concept for this version is that the turbofans can get it flying hypersonic, at which time compression heating will ionize the surrounding air. The inlets and plug nozzle close and additional electromagnets draw the ionized air around the fuselage and straight into the fusion reaction in the magnetic nozzle. Essentially it becomes an inside out magnetoplasma scramjet. The entire purpose is to minimize propellant expenditure on a direct escape trajectory, skipping the orbital phase entirely and taking full advantage of both rarified gas propellant and the Oberth effect. As long as there is a destination with a decent atmosphere it can aerobrake to land and perform the same maneuver to escape, using very little propellant for the round trip.

Of course most destinations with atmospheres tend to be an FTL jump away, which is something I haven't worked out yet, but it doesn't have to be an oxygen-rich atmosphere; the chemical fuel can be exchanged for hydroxylammonium nitrate to run the turbofans as either a monopropellant in an inert atmosphere or as an oxidizer in a fuel-rich atmosphere, such as Titan's nitrogen-methane mix.

Description
Round three on the spaceplane concept. The main drive is a combination of a plug nozzle for atmospheric turbofans and the fuel injector for the fusion drive. As with the others it runs in chemical mode for takeoff and landing and switches to air breathing fusion mode at high speed and high altitude to avoid endangering the ground crews. The main concept for this version is that the turbofans can get it flying hypersonic, at which time compression heating will ionize the surrounding air. The inlets and plug nozzle close and additional electromagnets draw the ionized air around the fuselage and straight into the fusion reaction in the magnetic nozzle. Essentially it becomes an inside out magnetoplasma scramjet. The entire purpose is to minimize propellant expenditure on a direct escape trajectory, skipping the orbital phase entirely and taking full advantage of both rarified gas propellant and the Oberth effect. As long as there is a destination with a decent atmosphere it can aerobrake to land and perform the same maneuver to escape, using very little propellant for the round trip.

Of course most destinations with atmospheres tend to be an FTL jump away, which is something I haven't worked out yet, but it doesn't have to be an oxygen-rich atmosphere; the chemical fuel can be exchanged for hydroxylammonium nitrate to run the turbofans as either a monopropellant in an inert atmosphere or as an oxidizer in a fuel-rich atmosphere, such as Titan's nitrogen-methane mix.