Blade 3-2 SSTO

Blade, high aspect ratio wing shaped space rocket gets a new update. This time I incorporated bi-wing design. Two low profile Blade on top of each other. The top one would be placed a little forward than the lower one to create a shock barrier for supersonic speeds. The gap between the two would be small, less than a meter. The lower section would be taller compared to the top one. The lower section would be experiencing more heat and more shock waves. Therefore, it would require heavier shielding and cooling. Additionally, it would house the payload bay on its center.

This new design would allow much higher augmented air inlet between the two sections. Also, the lift to drag ratio would be improved by splitting the cross section into two pieces. The vertical supports between the sections would improve the rigidity of the supersonic wing shaped rocket. The supports would also serve as vertical stabilizers, reducing the load on software driven differential thrusts.

Like all Blade series, Blade 3-2 also takeoff horizontally from a runway. There would be a motorized trailer accelerating the rocket on the ground while the rockets engines also ignited. Unlike traditional planes, the rocket would ascent with a low angle of attack like a glider. In order to utilize the atmosphere more and save on fuel and oxidizer, Blade 3-2 will spend more time on the lower atmosphere. Below 25km, the afterburner affect would save considerable amount of heavy LOX. As the surface of the rocket heats up, it would ascent slowly and still utilize the augmented air to improve thrust and utilize its wing shape to counteract the gravity. Unlike traditional rockets, Blade series direct almost all of their thrust to horizontal acceleration. That is the main goal of a LEO deployer. Ideally, Blade 3-2 would reach the orbital speed just before leaving the Karman line, so augmented air and atmospheric lift would be maximized. Once in space, the rocket would make the necessary maneuvers such as moving towards the Equator.

The return flight of the rocket would be mainly engineless gliding. Even though there would be some methane in the tanks. They would be used to pressurize the structure and as a coolant during the atmospheric reentry. On the upper atmosphere, Blade would skip thanks to its high aspect ratio design. This would allow much more speed reduction on the cooler atmosphere. The very high aspect ratio even at supersonic speed would allow more gradual slow down and less heating. The gap between the two sections would also work as an air brake and passive stabilizer. Finally, Blade 3-2 would land on the runway on the trailer it took off. The trailer would decelerate the rocket till it stands still. There would be a Catcher in the Fly in reserve, if the rocket cannot make it to the runway. The Catcher would catch the rocket up in the air and land it safely on the ground.

That is the summary of the Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) Blade 3-2.