orbital airship

A proposed space transportation system that uses lighter-than-air vehicles to carry payloads to and from low Earth orbit. JP Aerospace's "Airship To Orbit" concept has 3 components: 1. An atmospheric airship (Ascender), which travels between the ground and the station. 2. A two-mile-wide station (Dark Sky Station) at 140,000 ft. 3. A 6,000- ft-long orbital airship (Orbital Ascender), which travels between the station and orbit. It uses electric propulsion to accelerate over several days to orbital velocity.

Thanks to Michael Huang for contributing this entry.

External links

JP Aerospace - Airship To Orbit (Adobe PDF file)
MSNBC - Airship groomed for flight to edge of space
The Space Review - Floating to space

Related category

• ADVANCED PROPULSION CONCEPTS

Also on this site:

Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living
Encyclopedia of History

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