

LauncherOne: Virgin Galactic's other project - RiderOfGiraffes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jonathanamos/2009/11/launcherone-virgins-galactics.shtml

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electromagnetic
I've always been unsure on the British governments current policy to avoid
funding any space projects.

On one hand they're forcing Virgin Galactic to become financially independent
and not to rely on government handouts and be ultimately indebted for their
existence.

Yet on the other hand, it appears as though the government isn't invested in
their success and that they're happy to let NASA and the ESA deal with
everything space related. Yet we all know, the first successful satellite
launch by Virgin will be praised to no end by the British government as a
'made in Britain' triumph.

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sammyo
This sounds like someone hoping to get a gov grant but obfuscates the real
issue: once detached from the mother ship the rocket still needs to accelerate
from around 4-500 mph to 17k mph to reach orbit.

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JshWright
Indeed the acceleration must occur, but starting at 50k feet substantially
reduces the amount of air the rocket has to push out of its way.

This not only makes acceleration easier, it also dramatically reduces the
dynamic pressure on the vehicle at max Q, allowing for a reduction in the mass
of the vehicle (making acceleration easier still).

