Slingatron

[paul]

Is it really necessary for us to burn loads of rocket fuel to get in to space...?

Maybe not.

The Slingatron is effectively a giant slingshot that would spin a projectile progressively faster via a spiral tube... (imagine an Olympic hammer thrower for the idea behind the theory!)



Read more here: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002387.html

Paul
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[lightningbob]

Yeeeeaaaaah .....well here's the thing orbital velocity is over 17,000 mph to get to orbit at that speed you have to go faster then that to overcome drag due to air and Earths gravity So were moving at say 20,000 mph in a circular path smaller than oh let's say the continental U.S. once we reach the center inertia has turned us into liquid (think of the force you feel when your car turns a corner ...then multiply that by 2 billion. Also the cost of construction would be billions and billions (Thank you Carl Sagan) and anycraft would reach orbit as a cinder after being burnt up by the atnosphere.

[StephanG]

The link doesn't work. But I feel unwell just thinking about accelerating in a spiral to escape velocity.