Mach 23 Will Set You Free
The U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research thinks it’s possible, and a company in California wants to prove it: a large electromagnetic ring will be able to launch small satellites into space. Discovery Channel Canada gives us the scoop:
A large circular metal track could accelerate objects to supersonic speed using electromagnets and spit them out into space, says a report from the U.S. air force’s Office of Scientific research.
Tagged as the Launch Ring by its inventing company, Launch Point Technologies, the track would be several kilometers in diameter. Similar to trains that hover on electromagnetic tracks, a sled would hover over the ring and be propelled forward using powerful magnets.
According to the company, a satellite protected by an eggshell-like capsule could sit atop the sled and slowly accelerate over a matter of hours to a supersonic 10 km/sec. Then a small explosion could detach the capsule from the sled and it would hurtle into a side tunnel.
From there, it would shoot up a ramp and through the atmosphere into outer space. Traveling at a 23 times the speed of sound, the capsule would experience forces 2,000 times that of normal gravity on Earth.
A rocket strapped on the capsule would correct the trajectory so that it correctly aligned itself in orbit.
The Goleta California company has received funding to begin a two-year study within several weeks. Boosters of the ring hope to one day use it for thousands of launches a year, at a fraction of today’s cost of putting things in space.
Humans could never withstand the forces exerted during the ring’s launch process. Under existing technological limitations, it could only be used to propel supplies to be used by humans on a long-term mission in outer space, or to put satellites into orbit.
The Air Force also suggests it could be used for military purposes, quickly launching weapons around the world.
For more details, try NewScientist.com.
