Point-to-Point Transportation

Abstract

In the not-so-distant future, if you believe the articles in Popular Mechanics or Wired, the more affluent sections of society will have the option of rocketing between London and Sydney or between New York and Beijing in just 2 h (Fig. 8.1). Or less. It’s called suborbital point-to-point (SPTP) and, if those articles or to be believed, it will radically alter intercontinental commuting. At least for a privileged few. With the advent of suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLV) comes the potential for PTP transportation which has long been heralded as a revolutionary mode of air transport. One study published by the International Space University (ISU) in 2008 calculated the transatlantic flight time for a sRLV between New York and London could be as quick as 75 min. While such rapid global transport of passengers makes PTP an attractive space technology proposition, its success is dependent on a number of factors. First, PTP transport needs to be integrated into not only the National Airspace System (NAS) but also into International Airspace. Second, there are myriad institutional, technical and operational issues that must be resolved before supersonic and hypersonic PTP systems (Fig. 8.2) can be flown between major cities. And third, dedicated spaceports may need to be co-located with existing airports.