Planetary Chauvinism, and Zubrin-ites

--- In spacesettlers@y..., "Combs, Mike" wrote:
> From: John Frazer [mailto:johnf4303@h...]
>> Any good online resources to using mass-driver rockets? SSI is
pretty sparse on this. <<
>
> I don't think there are any good on-line resources on mass-driver
rockets. Everyone seems to be assuming that since we never built them,
obviously there was some fundamental problem with the concept, but I'm
not yet convinced this is the case.<

I've learned my lesson. When I have had trouble finding something
space-related online, someone has referred me to PERMANENT, so I'll
return the favor: http://www.permanent.com/t-massdr.htm (of course,
this might not be as good as you want, because at the end it suggests
contacting SSI for more info. :-P)

IMHO there is a fundamental problem with mass drivers, but it's
economic, not technical. Mass drivers represent a huge investment,
and they will have to transport a lot of cargo to bring the cost per
ton down. However, until the costs come down, there won't be much
demand for space transportation. So you have a chicken-and-egg kind
of problem.

--JohnWheeler