[Spaceships] getting into orbit without superscience?

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Gnaskar

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Another group bought rights for a 0.4G world with a 12 hour day, so find they don't need any super materials to bring along a prefabricated space elevator.r.

Not this one. Space elevators mass a _lot_.

I'm kind of dubious about the seaplanes too. The first stage is not realy a problem but it's less help than soem people think too. The likely problem is that you seem to have the second stage/orbiter being a seaplane as well and I don't really think a hypersonically streamined shape is going to do well with a boat-shaped underside.

If you do look for space planes with rounded bottoms the first one you're likely to find is that one that made Col. Steve Austin into a secret government agent.