3 ms·

See my note above - the problem is the need to circularize the orbit so the projectile doesn't just hit the other side of the Earth. EDIT: I just had a thought

See my note above - the problem is the need to circularize the orbit so the projectile doesn't just hit the other side of the Earth. EDIT: I just had a thought, if you have a facility in orbit, you could use a gun to shoot perfectly vertically to the orbital height, then capture the projectile before it fell back. Nope, that still wouldn't work - The capturing vehicle would need to add velocity to the projectile to raise its velocity from the eastward component of the radial velocity of the launch site to the orbital velocity.

ivankirigin 17y ago
You've described a Sky Hook. It's a great idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyhook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyhook You're right that you don't want to accelerate it too much when caught. One of the coolest applications of sky hooks is _landing_ when there is no atmosphere. You extend or contract the tether to decrease or increase the angular momentum, and balance it with the decreasing potential energy of landing. You can land softly without rockets.