Synerjet propulsion and the trimarket opportunity - Orbital, transglobal and lunar transportation services with one vehicle type

A proposed aerospace transporter for performing earth-to-orbit/return missions as well as transatmospheric and in-space high-energy missions is argued to be an effective and feasible alternative for development. The vehicles are based on the exploitation of 'synerjet' technologies that use airbreathing/rocket combined-cycle propulsion. The vehicle is shown to be capable of terrestrial-service intercontinental transglobal flight in an 'orbital cruise' mode as well as round trips from low orbits to high orbits and to the moon. The operational flexibility is linked to the development of synerjet propulsion, so directions are proposed for technology development and validation efforts. The development of the NASP X-30 by NASA is shown to be an important initial contribution to the R&D in this direction.