Accelerating hypersonic airplanes with ground-power

The possible benefits of using ground power to accelerate the hypersonic airplane on a launch ramp are quantified. A passenger-carrying hypersonic airplane leaving its loading ramp carries fuel for acceleration, cruise, and landing. A ramp for launching a 150-metric-ton vehicle to Mach 5 with 4 g acceleration would be 38-km long and require up to 10 GW of power. In the final second, 2.8 MWh of energy would be consumed along 1720 m of ramp. Possible scenarios and acceleration mechanisms are evaluated