Orbital Re-Entry into Atmosphere

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by TheBigDog

… the company that wanted to use the rotary space craft to win the original x-prize. It ended up burning up do to rocketry issues, but the descending worked as they had hoped as I recall.

Rotary Rocket - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oops! Not x-prize, but a commercial venture.

Back in the mid ‘90s, I was a big fan of Bevin McKinny’s “space helicopter” concept. I watched with sadness the slow retreat of its design from its most unusual elements, and the eventual financial failure of its attempted commercial development. Though I’m sure the McKinny has his share of disgruntled investors and former employees, my only gruntlement with him is that I don’t think he gave the appropriate historic nod to the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel, a 1944 design which strongly technically and superficially resembles the first drawings of what would eventually become the Roton.

That-which-would-become-the-Roton's early design emphasized very efficient aerodynamic lift-based performance at low altitudes, low empty and payload mass and mechanical simplicity via fuel delivery to rotor tip rocket motors by centrifugal force rather than mechanical pumps. The shrinking of the anticipated market for small payload launches forced a major change in design, eliminating the rotor tip motors and increasing payload and empty mass, then practical considerations forced the replacement of its centrifugally pressurized motors with conventional rocket motors, until ultimately it was just a peculiar single stage rocket with folding helicopter rotors in place of a parachute.

I’d like to see the original design more completely developed.