Sep 13, 2010 07:46 GMT  ·  By
Different technologies to push a spacecraft down a long rail have been tested in several settings
   Different technologies to push a spacecraft down a long rail have been tested in several settings

Officials at NASA are proposing a new type of launch system, which would see scramjet-powered aircraft being propelled off an electrified runway to the very fringes of space.

The vehicle would then ignite a rocket, of the type that usually powers up the second stages of rockets, which would ensure its positioning into low-Earth orbit.

Experts at the American space agency say that the technologies required to make something like this possible already exist, and that no new innovations are needed. However, the technologies do need to be matured and/or improved.

The engineering team, based at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, say that this cutting-edge approach to space exploration would entail numerous benefits.

One of them would be the fact that the high-tech industry would be stimulated to push the boundaries of science to the limit, trying to improve existing technologies several times over.

For example, electrified tracks already exist in reality, in theme parks, where they accelerate roller-coasters at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. But a space plane would need to be catapulted into the air at 10 times that speed.

A scramjet would then start working, allowing the spacecraft to rise to the edge of the atmosphere. It is only now that scramjet engine technology is being developed, but the first tests show great potential.

“All of these are technology components that have already been developed or studied. We're just proposing to mature these technologies to a useful level, well past the level they've already been taken,” explains KSC Applied Physics Laboratory branch chief Stan Starr.

He adds that the aircraft itself would be wedge-shaped, and that it would be able to reenter the atmosphere all on its own after conducting a mission. It would land on a normal airstrip.

“The studies and development program could also be used as a basis for a commercial launch program if a company decides to take advantage of the basic research NASA performs along the way,” say experts at NASA in a press release.

“NASA's fundamental research has long spurred aerospace industry advancement, a trend that the advanced space launch system could continue,” they add.

The potential for such approach to space exploration is nearly unlimited, but experts still require some interest from the government or private sponsors.

Combining and improving cutting-edge technologies has a high failure rate, but the return is also very high. It remains to be seen whether the new project will only be confined to paper.