[gurps] [VEHICLE] of the week 674 – Improved Spaceplane

[Wyrm]

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?

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