So... if one made a very aerodynamic craft, and launched at a more extreme lateral angle, do you think it would supplement the chemical rockets enough that escape would be possible?
not really going to orbit is about velocity not altitude the gravity at low earth orbit is pretty much the same as at sea level.
The savings you get when launching from say an aircraft at 40,000 feet mainly come from not having to go through max-q at sea level the relative amount of propellant you’ll need to get to orbit is the same you can just use a smaller rocket but it doesn’t help to overcome the rocket equation trap.
But at altitude you do get higher ISP, which is a greater limiting factor than drag/max-Q. The Saturn-V would not even get off the pad in an even slightly denser atmosphere. But lift it up to where the air is thinner, where its engines can generate more thrust, and it might have enough DeltaV to get something into an orbit.
