While SpaceX’s reusable rockets have slashed satellite launch costs to US$3,000/kg, some scientists have estimated that an electromagnetic space launch system could drive those costs down to a mere US$60/kg.
China completely invalidating SpaceX’s business model would be hilarious.
NASA is banned from working with China, so it would be genuinely hilarious if they were the only group stuck paying $3k per kg.
I’m not sure what’s funnier. If China open sources the technology and NASA would have no choice but to switch to it, or they keep it proprietary and force the US to use spacex
I think the funniest outcome would be Elon being forced to try to build a space gun to try to compete.
The SpaceX rockets being reusable barely put a dent in the price of launches, they were already cheap. probably has something to do with them using RP-1 fuel wich is is cheaper and easier to store and creates greenhouse gasses vs. the clean burning liquid hydrogen that NASA and ESA use.
the answer to every infrastructure problem is high-speed rail
I hope they figure out how to do this with engineless commercial airliners (I know it’ll never happen but it would be cool)
Fuck it, I see no reason why a train couldn’t be shot between two tracks 100 miles apart
Well, you could make a “train” to orbit but your rail would have to be hundreds of kilometers long, dozens of kilometers tall, held up with wires and particle accelerators, and the train would probably just be a single car
Btw this would just accelerate the space plane so it doesnt have to burn as much fuel as otherwise. It’s not a literal train into space
i hope this works and doesn’t turn humans into mashed potatoes
CPC Priorities
Mass Line
Mass Driver
…but gommunsiim no innovation!!1!11!111!!
Its not a new idea, arthur c clarke wrote about a rail launcher in Prelude to Space (1947), he based most of that story on how the scientists at that time expected space travel to happen.
“We have perfected instantaneous teleportation.”
“Pfffft, Star Trek did it.”
Implementation is the dividing line between a cool sci-fi idea and actual innovation.
