The first step to a giant leap
A cost effective rocket accelerator for delivering vastly increased payloads to orbit.
HYPACC 2 (HYdro Pump ACCelerator). is a sketch design for a large-scale scramjet (air-breathing rocket) pre-accelerator, employed as the first stage of a heavy lift system for transporting large payloads to orbit.
The recent international interest in establishing a Moon base is for good reason. If mankind can harvest the bounty of near space we can solve global warming at a stroke. It is accepted that lunar helium 3 will provide carbon-free energy without the radioactive waste of conventional nuclear power.
A moon base will only be sustainable when we can first access orbit efficiently. Current heavy lift rockets deliver less than 1% of their total weight to orbit. Solid fuel boosters spew ozone depleting CFC’s in massive quantities directly to the upper atmosphere where they do most damage.
Access to orbit is the first hurdle to large-scale lunar mineral extraction. HYPACC 2 could pre-accelerate large quantities of scramjet freighted fuel and equipment to orbital staging with minimal pollution. Orbit is our planet’s front door and it opens to the final frontier.
Ideas abound to revolutionise space travel but few are remotely practical or possible with current technology and materials. Practicality is the key and we have all the tools in the box for this challenge. The prime considerations to the concept are minimal engineering (It is a relatively low-tech principle)...which on a large scale is very significant to cost...plus it poses minimized environmental impact ...which on a large scale is significant to everyone!