Flight Testing of a New Air Launch Method for Safely Launching Personnel and Cargo into Low Earth Orbit

This paper describes the development and flight-testing of a new air launch method for safely launching personnel and cargo into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Transformational Space Corporation LLC (t/Space) has proposed a rocket carried by and launched from either a modified 747 airliner or from a custom aircraft to be designed and built. A new air launch method, called Trapeze-Lanyard Air Drop (t/LAD) launch, is proposed that greatly improves simplicity, safety, cost, and reliability of launching personnel into LEO. A t/LAD launch eliminates the need for wings or fins on the launch vehicle; greatly reduces ascent dynamic pressure, sideways accelerations and bending forces, and rocket engine thrust vectoring control; and allows the use of a simple and very safe vapor pressurization (Vapak) engine cycle for the launch vehicle.