Rocket sled launch: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Essay|date=June 2009}}

A '''skyramp''' (also known as an inclined rocket sled or an inclined jet sled) uses a rail or maglev track and rocket or jet boosters to accelerate a sled holding a rocket up an eastward facing mountain slope. By starting 2000 meters above sea level and accelerating to Mach 0.8 to Mach 3 substantial fuel savings can be gained allowing a single stage to orbit reusable vehicle.

This will require no new engineering as the test tracks at Holloman Air force base have tested Rocket Sleds moving at above Mach 3. NASA studies of maglev sleds concluded that using current technology they could not magnetically accelerate rockets fast enough. But most designs for skyramps use jet engines or rockets to accelerate the spacecraft mounted on it. Effectively a sky ramp makes the first stage of a rocket fully reusable since the sled is returned to its starting position, refueled and may reused at once.