Spaceport in the Sky DesignIn this design approach, a plane carries the rocket to 30k feet and then drops it. The rocket takes off and can either go higher or return to the Earth. Space1 is looking at providing the actual real estate land on the plane (drone) in the sky for the rocket launch AND landing. It's a spaceport in the sky. A large enough drone could support numerous rocket pads and a large overall spaceport with hangars for spaceships.
Space1 has developed a successful test. The largest owned drone was prepped and taken to altitude with the contents of one rocket. At apogee, the drone was flipped to launch the rocket. The rocket ejected a parachute and returned safely to the Earth for a complete recovery, ready for reuse. To launch the rocket farther into space, the drone needs to have a prepped rocket launcher and rocket.
