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But is it really a catapult? (www.thebrighterside.news)

Using centripetal force puts it in trebuchet territory does it not?

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[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Ignoring air resistance (which you really shouldn't, especially not when you're talking in the thousands of meters per second), you need to launch something at around 1400m/s get it to 100km high "suborbital". You need to launch it over 8000m/s to get it into orbit. In 2022, Spinlaunch were getting to ~450m/s, but that was two years ago and maybe they've improved.

Now, 1400m/s is in the neighborhood of a tank cannon, which is doable. But 8000m/s on the surface, or about 29.000 kph, is about mach 23. That's like running smack into a brick wall of air, every millisecond. And in reality, you need MUCH more speed, because you're shooting at a much shallower angle, so there's a lot more air to get through.

I think they're too early. Kinetic launchers will be great for yeeting raw materials from moons and asteroids, but launching delicate satellites through Earth's thick atmosphere seems fraught with challenges.

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 weeks ago

Yeah, it would work great on the moon. Not so much down here.

this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2024
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