SpinLaunch raises $40M to build a machine to catapult objects into space

Re:SpinLaunch raises $40M to build a machine to catapult obj... by mkstowegnv on Friday June 15, 2018 @09:17AM (#17319515)

>tl;dr it can save 6% in a ideal situation, but the extra cost and logistical problems aren't worth it.

Unless you launch by means of a mass driver/rail gun [1] built into the side of Mt Everest with a piggy backed elevator for tourists. Tourists would arrive to a pressurized viewing area at the summit and have the option of donning an oxygen mask, going outside and posing for photos next to a cutout of Sir Hillary. I have never understood why serious rock climbing friends get so upset whenever I have mentioned this idea over the years.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_driver

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Re:SpinLaunch raises $40M to build a machine to catapult obj... by evgen on Friday June 15, 2018 @01:01PM (#17321389)

Skip Everest and go with Mt Kenya. It's equatorial location means that you are getting a nice delta-v boost, its shape is more suited to this purpose, and it is far more accessible.

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Re:SpinLaunch raises $40M to build a machine to catapult obj... by mozumder on Friday June 15, 2018 @11:15AM (#17320296)

I always thought they should just make stairs on Everest..

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