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/sci/ - Science & Math

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7597056 No.7597056 [Reply] [Original]

Let's talk mass drivers

What are the biggest challenges currently stopping mass drivers from being a viable method for sending payloads into space?

How feasible is a small-scale mass driver that could launch a few cubesats up into space?

>> No.7597069

Atmosphere

>> No.7597079

>>7597056
poopies

>> No.7597081

>>7597069

This. They would be legitimately great for use on the moon, though. Find a way to make money off moon rocks and share it with the world, and you will see them employed there.

>> No.7597093

>>7597069
>>7597081

An atmosphere gets in the way but is it impossible to make a fairing that can protect the payload until it reaches space?

We aren't talking about orbital velocities here, just clearing the karman line

>> No.7597100

>>7597093
> is it impossible to make a fairing that can protect the payload until it reaches space?

Of course it is now the delete this thread

>> No.7597104

>>7597093
Atmosphere kills the point of having a running start.
I could see the benefits of launching space planes from a catapult, but that is what a carrier aircraft basically does.
It's cheaper to just use a regular rocket for everything else on Earth.

>> No.7597105

>>7597081
>Find a way to make money off moon rocks and share it with the world, and you will see them employed there.
"Give me ten trillion dollars or the bombardment will begin in one week."

>> No.7597147

>>7597093
It's not just about protection, it's about how much velocity the atmosphere robs from the payload. However, the biggest problem facing obstacles launched from a system where it's unpropelled for most of the journey isn't burning up (though that's a problem) it's the forces sustained during launch.

>> No.7597310

>>7597056

Mass drivers on the surface of the Earth will never be feasible, the atmosphere is too thick. On the other hand, I think mass drivers on the surface of the Moon are the key to deep space colonization, especially beyond Mars.

Anyone know if a reverse mass driver is feasible? Instead of speeding something up you slow it down, eliminating the need for aerobraking and retropropulsion.

>> No.7597461

disappointing that not more people are interested in this discussion

>> No.7597494

>>7597461
bro fuck yourself and your thread

>> No.7597499

>>7597310
Ya, you could have a very long track, speed up a net that grabs onto a passing object, then turn on the breaks. Some type of magnetic system would allow for regenerative breaking and could possibly be a good idea.