Originally Posted by
tdracer
In the 1700's, the typical speed for long distance travel as ~6 mph - the speed of a horse drawn carriage. In the 1800's, the typical speed for long distance travel was ~60 mph - the speed of a steam locomotive driven train. By the 1900s, the typical speed for long distance travel was ~600 mph - the speed of a jet aircraft.
Is it really so unreasonable to think that by the end of the 2000s, we'll be traveling hypersonic for long distance travel?
When I was in college, one of my textbooks on aircraft design (published in the 1950's) predicted that jet powered commercial aircraft would never be successful as the high fuel consumption would make it uneconomical
. Advances in technology - along with the huge drop in turbine engine maintenance costs relative to piston powered aircraft - made that prediction laughably wrong.
I think you’re out by about 100 years on that timeline. So maybe by 2100, but by then the zero carbon reality will make such a thing impossible, to say nothing of the enormous costs and all the other hurdles. Actually, I am sure that the technology exists right now to make such a plane, but there isn’t a commercial market for more than a handful. As far as the space vehicle launch platform goes, I would like to see how you could go hypersonic with that much drag and aerodynamic interactions.