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Is anyone still thinking it might be a launch loop?
by tocomment 13y ago
Is anyone still thinking it might be a launch loop?
- schiffern 13y agoI'm in, given that it's the only way to beat the insane right-of-way costs for a transport system in California with a ~20 km turning radius.
- Turing_Machine 13y agoI don't know about California in specific, but in the United States as a whole there is plenty of existing and unused/lightly used railroad right of way. Cut a deal with the railroads (most of whom are very, very hungry for cash/investment) and you've got transcontinental capability without needing any eminent domain proceedings or similar obstacles.
- schiffern 13y agoThe problem is that many railroad right-of-ways just aren't straight enough. The plains states will be fine, but the high-density areas are a pain.
- InclinedPlane 13y agoA launch loop doesn't make sense, it's too risky (from a business sense) for this sort of project and too expensive too. Also, the obvious use of a launch loop is for launch, of course. Why serve a market where prices are cents per kilogram when you can serve a market where prices are hundreds of dollars per kilo? And with less capital investment too.
- tocomment 13y agoTrue, but maybe he needs a smaller scale, proof of principle launch loop before building a larger, faster? one for actual launching.