Home Space The world’s first spacecraft with a wedge-air rocket engine crashed before testing began

The world’s first spacecraft with a wedge-air rocket engine crashed before testing began

by Joel Brown

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The point of a wedge-air rocket system is to use the difference in air pressure at different altitudes to regulate the jet. In a conventional engine, its parameters are limited by the bell of the exhaust nozzle. In a wedge-air engine, the environment itself is part of the system and directly influences the shape and lift of the jet. But this is only in theory.

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It is assumed that the wedge-air engine will independently compensate for all negative effects during flight in a rarefied environment. And this will increase the efficiency of travelling in the stratosphere, as well as near space. Polaris Spaceplanes immediately made a glider in the form of a triangular reusable vehicle, as its creators are confident of success. And the accident of the first prototype did not affect their enthusiasm.

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