We May Have Underestimated the Dangers of Red Dwarf Solar Flares

[aramis]

The issue of MSTO aviation-to-rocket is the same issue as rocketry: getting enough lift. It alters the method of lift, but not the fundamental issues of L:W ratios vs gravity (Remembering that Rockets L=T, but aviation L is > T in flat/level flight at/above stall). Blimps have a slight advantage, as they continue to expand with altitude, losing lift slightly slower than fixed wing or rotary wing.

As of yet, only one system uses aviation to rocketry - Scaled Composites/Virgin Galactic. Two generations, soon to be three... As yet, it's only suborbital. It's not more cost effective than Blue Origins' New Shepard, at least not to the consumer. How much of that is profit imperative is undisclosed.

I'll note that only a few currently flying non-Chinese rockets have adequate delta-V to dock to ISS and a crew-rated endorsement: Atlas V, Falcon, Soyuz, LVM3...

Most others are not yet capable of hitting ISS orbit, or are not rated for manned flight. Or both.

 

[aramis]

I have read this as well. Maybe if they could never do it, they would not dream of it?

They'd likely dream of it. The question isn't, "would they dream of it", but "would they be able to overcome the hindrances." I'm cautiously optimistic for the 13 to 15 m/s² gravity ranges...

Rockets are obvious tech. Sufficient that they're a late bronze age to early iron age development. Liquid fuel are industrial era, and appear to get more efficient thanks to digital age tools.
Aircraft are late pre-industrial... in the form of Balloons... balloons could have been made as early as the 800's, earlier in China, but no one had the chem knowledge to pull off LTA flight by other than hot air. (silk working tech to get the really tight weave needed.)
Fixed Wing are early industrial; the aerofoil predates the Wrights by several decades.

Combining the two? The Korean War era saw the C119 using rockets to boost take-offs. That's the opposite of what we need for MSTO in high Gee... but if one can do the first, the other is a likely thought, especially with the rise of AAMs...