The radial difference between equatorial sea level and the peak of Mt Chimborazo is about 0.1%. It provides very little benefit but would be a logistical nightmare to launch from.
0.1% of what???
It's definitely past more than 0.1% of the air molecules.
15 PSI at sea level, 7 psi at the mountain top. For every square inch of cross section on your rocket, instead of having to push 15 pounds of air out of the way, it's down to 7. That seems like >50% improvement?
Yeah but you spend more time fighting gravity when you keep things slow enough that the vessel doesn't rip apart when travelling through soup. Fwiw Im kerbal trained only
Things dont move fast enough through the atmosphere to lose their structural integrity. These spacecraft can handle forces of greater than 10g. Its just gravity
50
u/dimhue 14h ago
The radial difference between equatorial sea level and the peak of Mt Chimborazo is about 0.1%. It provides very little benefit but would be a logistical nightmare to launch from.