| This thesis addresses the topic of launching an aerospace vehicle to orbit from a high altitude. The current transportation system from Earth to space has been deemed by many to be expensive, unreliable, and an unnecessarily dangerous means of travel to space. It is suggested in this proposal to examine a different type of launch from a high altitude to an orbit in space. By lifting the vehicle to a high altitude within Earth's atmosphere using a high-altitude balloon followed by the activation of the vehicle's propulsion system, a potentially cheaper and safer, though obviously longer journey, could be achieved to space. |
