3 ms·
The article is very light on details, but I believe what's being proposed is an evacuated tube with maglev propulsion, used to accelerate a rocket up to 5000mph
by gnode 8y ago
The article is very light on details, but I believe what's being proposed is an evacuated tube with maglev propulsion, used to accelerate a rocket up to 5000mph (as stated in the article) while on the ground. The rocket is then released, and travels until some altitude is reached, at which point engine then starts and it continues to orbit. This results in a large fuel saving over a conventional rocket.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_driver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_driver
The g-forces involved would be very high, well beyond lethal to a human, so this would be for launching robust satellites, raw materials, or fuel cheaply into space. They would still be substantially lower than those of a space gun / intercontinental artillery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_gun#Practical_attempts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_gun#Practical_attempts
- beinstein 8y agoNo maglev and rocket fires at a different time :-)
- gnode 8y agoSorry, I didn't mean to imply this wasn't the case. I've edited this in now.
- rory096 8y agoGiven that the grandparent is presumably Ben Einstein of Bolt VC, an early investor in SpinLaunch, it sounds safe to say it's not using maglev at all. They say the catapult will be a centrifuge spinning inside a vacuum. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/ben-einstein https://www.crunchbase.com/person/ben-einstein https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/spinlaunch-convertible-note--39075185#section-investors https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/spinlaunch-converti...
- zer0faith 8y agoWould it be fair to say it is kinda like punkin chunkin? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_chucking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_chucking
- gnode 8y agoSimilar. I'd like to see a maglev (railgun) pumpkin chuck though.