In 2005, a new

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...

that an air-launched

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

could take to put

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s into

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

was tested. Until this time,

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

s such as the

Pegasus rocket Pegasus is an Air launch to orbit, air-launched launch vehicle, multistage rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) and later built and launched by Northrop Grumman. Pegasus is the world's first privately developed orbital laun ...

, or rocket planes such as the X-1,

X-15 The North American X-15 is a Hypersonic speed, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the List of X-planes, X-plane series of ...

, or

SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOne is an experimental air launch, air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to / using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "Feathering (reentry), feathering" atmosph ...

, which were carried under an aircraft pointing in the same direction as the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, would have their engines ignited either just before being air-dropped or a few seconds afterward. They would then be expected to accelerate and climb in front of the carrier aircraft, crossing its flight path. This was considered dangerous due to the potential for a crashes between the rocket and the launch vehicle. The aft-crossing trajectory is an alternate flight path for a rocket. The rocket's rotation (induced by the deployment from the aircraft) is slowed by a small

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

attached to its tail, then ignited once the carrier aircraft has passed it. It is ignited before it is pointing fully vertically, however it will turn to do so, and accelerates to pass behind the carrier aircraft. The principal advantage of this method is its safety for the crew of the carrier aircraft.

References

* ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'' June 27, 2005, page 32. * {{cite web, url=http://www.transformspace.com/document_library/media/AIAA-2006-1040.pdf , title=Flight Testing of a New Air Launch Method for Safely Launching... , publisher= t/Space , date=2006 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221171852/http://www.transformspace.com/document_library/media/AIAA-2006-1040.pdf , archivedate=2007-02-21 Spaceflight

See also

References