Gun Launch

I don't know about companies. I don't think anybody is seriously thinking
of building an Earth-to-LEO gun launcher at this time. Any company
wanting to do this would face some serious challenges:
Where to find a mountain such that for many, many miles downrange there
is nobody who would be bothered by continuous sonic booms
Finding such a mountain near the equator but yet in a country where the
company can feel secure that it's assets won't be confiscated by the
next dictator to take office
Building an infrastructure in LEO that can accept and process these
small packets that are being thrown from Earth to LEO
etc.

My limited understanding of current gun-launch research and technologies
for Earth-to-LEO transport is that light gas guns and ram accelerators are
now thought to be a more promising avenue than electromagnetic launch.
(Electromagnetic launch could still be quite viable for Moon-to-LLO launch,
however.) To learn more about the ram accelerator, see
http://students.washington.edu/~buckwadl/RAM/ram.html, or
http://www.washington.edu/research/pathbreakers/1983a.html, or ...

Ron Menich

"Chad Lupkes"
ssi_list@...
08/28/01 03:56
PM
Please respond
to ssi_list

Is there any company out there that is researching placing material into
orbit by an electromagnetic rail gun? Put at an angle up the side of a
mountain, all it would take is electricity for the gun and a small amount
of fuel for direction.

Chad Lupkes

chadlupkes@...