Space Plane

ebook An Essay

By Edward E. Rochon

cover image of Space Plane

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Several years ago I conceived an idea for a new type of ramjet plane. The plane carries its own oxygen supply in addition to its air breather capacity. At speeds above mach 6 an oxygen cloud is placed into the intake ducts to slow down the speed of the engine intake airflow. The airflow pushes the oxygen cloud into the combustion chamber as a corollary. The effect is to keep the overall airflow at levels equal to the mach 6 air stream engine intake or below that level. The extra oxygen also allows the hypersonic craft to operate at higher altitudes. Thinking it over, I thought that this type of ramjet could have dual use as a spacecraft since it carried its own oxidizer. My ramjet is a simple design and needs to be accelerated in order to ignite. Why not use a hydrogen balloon to lift it up to altitude and then be dropped? Gravitation and perhaps the jet stream would accelerate the craft, thereby allowing for engine ignition. The craft would then start its climb into the upper atmosphere.

Space Plane