Rocket Launch & Gravity Turn

Ten meters per second squared!

Sorry Guys!

Firstly i would like to apologise to my viewers and readers for the lack of content the last couple of weeks. I've been a bit spaced out....  ;)

Side Flight

Alright, so currently what we have done is built a semi-advanced rocket that can reach space quite easily. Now what we want to is to understand the initial launch and gravity turn.

The gravity is extremely important in space flight for two reasons. The first reason the gravity turn is so important because it is fuel efficient. This efficiency directly relates to the thrust to weight ratio, as the ship ascends the fuel is being consumed at the same time, putting the ship on a 45 degree angle offers less resistance from aerodynamics and in turn allows the rocket to fight the forces of gravity at a more efficient rate.

What Goes Up.

Now there is a downside to how you approach the gravity turn. We all know what the prograde vector looks like now, now one option is to follow the prograde once above 10km to an almost horizontal flight path, what this will do will have a much slower approach to the safe 70km space zone, but will require much less thrust to reach a stable orbit on you periapsis. This can be made even more efficient by using an engine that uses much less fuel in a vacuum once the 70km apoapsis is reached.

Must Come Down.

The other approach is quite simple, just the reverse. What you do is once the 10km mark on the 45 degree angle is reached is to stay locked on the 45 degree vector. This will get the rocket to the 70km mark significantly faster, but will result in a much more lengthy burn to circularise that orbit. The sweet spot is finding the vector that is inbetween both of these approaches. That is the most efficient way to launch, but can prove extemely tricky to master. Watch the video below to get a more in-depth understanding.