Re:Why Bezos’ rocket is unprecedented–and worth taking serio...
by jsprogrammer on Wednesday September 14, 2016 @03:31PM
(#12500448)
The track would not run along the ground. You'd want to get height as quickly as possible to minimize atmosphere and track length.
Originating somewhere around Mojave and launching towards Las Vegas could work.
Alternatively, you may want to launch over the ocean for safety reasons, but it seems like you may be subject to more weather concerns.
Re:Why Bezos’ rocket is unprecedented–and worth taking serio...
by kragen on Wednesday September 14, 2016 @09:38PM
(#12502721)
You don't want to run the track along the ground? Where then, on a dirigible at the mesopause as suggested in http://postbiota.org/pipermail/tt/2011-August/009613.html?
Re:Why Bezos’ rocket is unprecedented–and worth taking serio...
by jsprogrammer on Thursday September 15, 2016 @12:36AM
(#12503444)
Bouyant structures could be used, as well as wings, to suspend the track.
You can't run along the ground because you don't want to go too fast through atmosphere.
Yes, generation costs will likely drop significantly below US$0.04/kWh eventually. But that's a Kardashev-Type-1 kind of event. Generating the power on-track may not turn out to be less expensive than long-distance transmission, because it depends on things like sunlight availability. Of the few suitable sites, most are pretty cloudy on one side.
No moon or planet alignments significantly reduce the energy barrier to get to orbit.