Reactionless drive ships orbital flight in 3rd ed physics?

weby · 03-04-2023, 09:46 AM

In 3rd edition space there was a thing where low thrust ships with wings could fly to orbit on planets with atmosphere if they had a certain % of their mass as thrust.

It was something like 8% for thin, 5% normal and 3% heavy density atmosphere.

What is the math/physics on that or was it just arbitrary?

And if the thrust % is based on reality, would it not require some fancy aerodynamics to be able to not have the atmospheric drag slow you down at an altitude where you can fly with your wings?

03-04-2023, 09:46 AM	#1
weby Join Date: Oct 2008	Reactionless drive ships orbital flight in 3rd ed physics? In 3rd edition space there was a thing where low thrust ships with wings could fly to orbit on planets with atmosphere if they had a certain % of their mass as thrust. It was something like 8% for thin, 5% normal and 3% heavy density atmosphere. What is the math/physics on that or was it just arbitrary? And if the thrust % is based on reality, would it not require some fancy aerodynamics to be able to not have the atmospheric drag slow you down at an altitude where you can fly with your wings? __________________ -- GURPS spaceship unofficial errata and thoughts: https://gsuc.roto.nu/