The Crazy Way Scientists Launch Rockets From Balloons
Large chemical rockets are needed to launch payloads into space from the ground, but could rockoons, rocket balloons, be a more efficient alternative? Pluto Could Be Made A Planet Again,...
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When you think of leaving the Earth, you probably think of something like this: This is the Saturn V launching Apollo 11 to the Moon. It was a chemical rocket, burning a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen to get its payload — the Apollo astronauts — off the Earth. Chemical rockets are basically an exercise in brute force, but they’re not the best way to go. They use a ton of resources, are bad for the environment, and can kill people. What if there was a better, easier, cheaper, less environmentally disastrous way of leaving the planet? One company, Zero2Infinity, is working on a different method today using rockoons. Rockoons are a hybrid of a rocket and a balloon that split the process of reaching orbit into two parts: First, the balloon rises into...
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When you think of leaving the Earth, you probably think of something like this: This is the Saturn V launching Apollo 11 to the Moon. It was a chemical rocket, burning a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen to get its payload — the Apollo astronauts — off the Earth. Chemical rockets are basically an exercise in brute force, but they’re not the best way to go. They use a ton of resources, are bad for the environment, and can kill people. What if there was a better, easier, cheaper, less environmentally disastrous way of leaving the planet? One company, Zero2Infinity, is working on a different method today using rockoons. Rockoons are a hybrid of a rocket and a balloon that split the process of reaching orbit into two parts: First, the balloon rises into...
