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> I could see the most practical use of this technology for propulsion where crashing isn't a major concern. Missiles jumped to mind. That's their whole purpo

> I could see the most practical use of this technology for propulsion where crashing isn't a major concern. Missiles jumped to mind. That's their whole purpose.

cal5k 8y ago
"We've fired the missiles, sir" "Excellent... when do they hit?" "According to our calculations... ohhh about 6 weeks from now"
- isostatic 8y ago
  Revenge is a dish best served cold. I was thinking how Musk could do that. Launch some tungstan rods into a highly eliptical orbit, small thruster + control pack on them to adjust their orbit when required. When it's out at say 300,000k+ fire the engine for a few seconds, adjusting the orbit so it will crash into the chosen target a few days from now. The high apogee means not a lot of power to change orbit to collision, and almost impossible to detect. It would likely appear to be an asteroid hit.
  - thrill 8y ago
    That would certainly raise the level of Bitcoin blackmail.
  - patrickg_zill 8y ago
    It's rumored that the US military has a "Rod of God" satellite. No way to confirm its existence of course.
  - rripken 8y ago
    You may like Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".
  - ben_w 8y ago
    I’ve looked at this idea myself. At current cost per kg to LEO launch and kW/kg solar, even if you could totally ignore reaction mass (I dunno, invent a ramscoop for van Allen belts or something), it only becomes cost competitive with dynamite after a few years.
    - DuskStar 8y ago
      Dynamite doesn't come with a delivery mechanism though, which might change the equation a little.
  - Tade0 8y ago
    I think his guy is in that Tesla Roadster in space.
moftz 8y ago
Except you need missiles to go much faster than ion thrusters can go. 11 mph is enough for someone to shoot down your missile with a rifle.
- jandrese 8y ago
  At 11 mph they could outrun it on foot.
  - isostatic 8y ago
    Prepare to engage enemy . . . bogey’s airspeed not sufficient for intercept. Suggest we get out and walk
    - moftz 8y ago
      Anti-missile defense provided by strong gusts of wind.
- dangerlibrary 8y ago
  s/rifle/rock/
stouset 8y ago
Missiles, just like planes, still use most of their energy to not crash into the ground. The point was that this current design won’t be enough energy to keep a heavy vehicle aloft, but it could be enough to propel something that can passively stay airborne.

> I could see the most practical use of this technology for propulsion where crashing isn't a major concern. Missiles jumped to mind. That's their whole purpose.

cal5k 8y ago

"We've fired the missiles, sir" "Excellent... when do they hit?" "According to our calculations... ohhh about 6 weeks from now"

isostatic 8y ago
Revenge is a dish best served cold. I was thinking how Musk could do that. Launch some tungstan rods into a highly eliptical orbit, small thruster + control pack on them to adjust their orbit when required. When it's out at say 300,000k+ fire the engine for a few seconds, adjusting the orbit so it will crash into the chosen target a few days from now. The high apogee means not a lot of power to change orbit to collision, and almost impossible to detect. It would likely appear to be an asteroid hit.
- thrill 8y ago
  That would certainly raise the level of Bitcoin blackmail.
- patrickg_zill 8y ago
  It's rumored that the US military has a "Rod of God" satellite. No way to confirm its existence of course.
- rripken 8y ago
  You may like Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".
- ben_w 8y ago
  I’ve looked at this idea myself. At current cost per kg to LEO launch and kW/kg solar, even if you could totally ignore reaction mass (I dunno, invent a ramscoop for van Allen belts or something), it only becomes cost competitive with dynamite after a few years.
  - DuskStar 8y ago
    Dynamite doesn't come with a delivery mechanism though, which might change the equation a little.
- Tade0 8y ago
  I think his guy is in that Tesla Roadster in space.

moftz 8y ago

Except you need missiles to go much faster than ion thrusters can go. 11 mph is enough for someone to shoot down your missile with a rifle.

jandrese 8y ago
At 11 mph they could outrun it on foot.
- isostatic 8y ago
  Prepare to engage enemy . . . bogey’s airspeed not sufficient for intercept. Suggest we get out and walk
  - moftz 8y ago
    Anti-missile defense provided by strong gusts of wind.
dangerlibrary 8y ago
s/rifle/rock/

stouset 8y ago

Missiles, just like planes, still use most of their energy to not crash into the ground. The point was that this current design won’t be enough energy to keep a heavy vehicle aloft, but it could be enough to propel something that can passively stay airborne.