3 ms·
One orbit. Consider the projectile just as it leaves the barrel, if it is in orbit then this point is on its orbit. It will return. The earth will have rotated
by jws 17y ago
One orbit. Consider the projectile just as it leaves the barrel, if it is in orbit then this point is on its orbit. It will return. The earth will have rotated the gun away, but the projectile is still going to come back into the atmosphere where it will lose too much energy to continue.
Any useful orbit needs to be above the atmosphere and would have to be shot from there.
You could use a secondary nudge of some sort to round out the orbit once it is in space and keep the projectile up, but making such a device that will survive the initial acceleration is unlikely.
- astine 17y agoWhat if we took advantage of the drag that the atmosphere exerted on the object as it ascended to change it's orbit or to move it into a useful orbit? Edit: Never mind, that would only work if we wanted to lower the orbit.
- randallsquared 17y agoLowering the orbit isn't the problem, if it's already fast enough. The problem is that the end of the velocity change is still going to be in the atmosphere.
- jws 17y agoI think this can get you most of the way there, using some form of atmospheric steering. Best case you could get your nearest approach tangent to the highest spot of atmosphere. You still need a bit more to avoid the atmosphere entirely, but your are mostly there.
- sho 17y ago"making such a device that will survive the initial acceleration is unlikely" Bear in mind that using an electromagnetic launcher you could accelerate (relatively) gradually over a length of track, the so-called "Mass Driver" concept.
- ivankirigin 17y agoThe friction with the air at its highest speed (and where the air is densest) would still be a problem.
- rjurney 17y agoWhich is why you run it up the Himalayas, right? :)