Onno Meyer wrote:
This is a weekly posting with GURPS vehicles (and the like) to the
GURPSnet mailing list. I grant the permission for all non-commercial
redistribution of my work, but I would like to know if you put it on
a website or the like. My site is down for rebuilding, but sooner or
later the old stuff should reappear at omeyer.gmxhome.de
Onno Meyer, 2007-09-24
Improved Spaceplane v1.0 (TL9)
Copyright 2007 by Onno Meyer
Many space exploration scenarios require a cheap and reusable launch
vehicle. The spaceplane can be used in reasonably realistic far future
games. It has ten seats and a total payload of 10 tons, including the
passengers.
The spaceplane uses a turbofan for horizontal takeoff and the flight
to 10 km altitude and 3,200 kph. There the rocket engines ignite for a
climb to LEO (approximately 200 km and 7.8 km/s). A delta-V of 800 m/s
remains for docking maneuvers and the reentry burn. Reentry takes the
spaceplane into the upper atmosphere, where drag brings it down for a
dead stick landing.
The turbofans burn 1,200 gallons of jet fuel per hour and the rockets
burn 1,375 gallons of HO per second. A full load of fuel is $23,600.
Why a dead stick? Can't the turbofans be used for landing as well?
[snip]
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