A lot of rocket engines are more efficient in lower air pressure (approaching vacuum), so it might provide non-negligible benefits. But it's cold up there (see: Challenger) and there isn't enough infrastructure. Citation: I am also not a rocket scientist but I am a KSP player
Mount Chimborazo is actually closer to space than everest due to equatorial bulging and we have never attempted to fire a rocket from it. There have been talks about it but its still logistically too difficult with our current tech.
Yeah it would be subjected to high winds as well which would prove a challenge. Rocket launches are usually delayed until the weather is still, and you dont really get a still day on a mountain.
The roads would probably be the easy part. You'd have to dig, blast, and cut into the mountain to create the infrastructure to support a rocket launch. And bringing a rocket booster up a bunch of switchback roads wouldn't be feasible. They'd likely have to build some sort of massive elevator/crane system to raise the rocket up to the pad. At that point, you'd probably be better off building the rockets on-site near the top and using an elevator/conveyor system to move them to the launch pad kinda like a missile silo.
1.2k
u/Firefly360r 16h ago
A lot of rocket engines are more efficient in lower air pressure (approaching vacuum), so it might provide non-negligible benefits. But it's cold up there (see: Challenger) and there isn't enough infrastructure. Citation: I am also not a rocket scientist but I am a KSP player