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Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by gostsamo on Thursday December 24, 2020 @07:57AM (#25527057)
Of course. Space elevator were suggested more than a century ago. Arthur Clark made the idea popular in the sixties.
Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by sammyo on Thursday December 24, 2020 @12:57PM (#25529714)
Perhaps a railgun plus a skyhook? Railgun up the side of a mountain on the equator and an orbiting station with a capture mechanism that is in a sense the strongest bungee cord imaginable. 17k mph is a lot of speed to make a grab. Exiting the railgun at mach 3-4 at 30,000 feet has engineering issues and still has accelerate above mach 20 for a stable orbit.
Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by _ah on Thursday December 24, 2020 @03:48PM (#25531269)
Laser propulsion is an interesting / wacky idea. Don't know if it would actually work, but the core concept of keeping the energy source on the ground is an interesting one at least.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion

Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by decafninja on Thursday December 24, 2020 @09:07AM (#25527524)
Giant railguns/coilguns for shooting cargo and/or passenger modules into space? This has been done in science fiction at least.
Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by numpad0 on Thursday December 24, 2020 @08:03AM (#25527090)
Is NERVA TSTO possible, strictly in technical sense? Yeah why not?
Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by kitvalo on Thursday December 24, 2020 @07:59AM (#25527066)
Neal Stephenson has a lot to offer in the Seven Eves
Re:Ask HN: Can we ever escape Earth's gravity without using ... by gostsamo on Thursday December 24, 2020 @08:33AM (#25527287)
Stephenson's ideas all needed some chemistry close to the surface if I remember it correctly.