The Sanger Space Bomber

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The design marked a significant milestone, incorporating cutting-edge rocket technology and the principle of the lifting body, paving the way for future development of winged spacecraft like the X-20 Dyna-Soar in the 1960s and the Space Shuttle in the 1970s.[1] Ultimately, it was deemed too intricate and costly to manufacture, and the design never progressed beyond mock-up testing. The Silbervogel was designed to traverse long distances through a series of short hops. The aircraft was set to begin its mission propelled along a 3 km (2 mi) rail track by a massive rocket-powered sled to approximately 800 km/h (500 mph). Once airborne, it would fire its rocket engine and continue climbing to an altitude of 145 km (90 mi), at which point it would be traveling at around 5,000 km/h (3,100 mph). It would then gradually descend into the stratosphere, where increasing air density would generate lift against the flat underside of the aircraft, causing it to "bounce" and gain altitude again. This pattern would repeat itself. Due to aerodynamic drag, each bounce would be shallower than the previous one, but calculations indicated that the Silbervogel could still cross the Atlantic, deliver a 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) bomb to the continental United States, and continue its flight to a landing site somewhere in Japan-held Pacific territories, covering a total distance of 19,000 to 24,000 km (12,000 to 15,000 mi).