RE: FT: Carriers

Randy W. Wolfmeyer wrote:

*SNIP*

>To re-enter, you decelerate enough at the apogee so that elliptical
orbit
>has a higher eccentricity (flatter ellipse) and the perigee is actually
>within the atmosphere at which point you can use aero braking to lose
the
>rest of your excess velocity.
>
>To drop straight down, you need to cut all the forward velocity of your
>orbit.
>
>In any case, your most efficient use of thrust is pushing you in the
>opposite direction of your orbital velocity, rather than thrusting
down.

So the suggestion that the list made to me, which I modified a bit,
would 
work, if I read you right - launch the fighters out  of the CV in the 
direction opposite the path of the CV's orbit - but launch them with
enough 
velocity that this acceleration away from the carrier is effectively a 
deceleration in regards to the orbit?

>This is actually one of the flaws in orbitally dropped munitions (like
>Thor from Renegade Legion).  It takes just as much work to drop
something
>from orbit as it takes to get it up there (aside from the fact that on
the
>way down you can use atmospheric drag to do some of the work).

True, it is a lot of work - the question is, do you not still get a
result 
that justifies the effort?

2B^2

_________________________________________________________________