NASA Looks At Railgun-Like Rocket Launcher 231
coondoggie writes "NASA is looking hard at a way to blast spacecraft horizontally down an electrified track or gas-powered sled and into space, hitting speeds of about Mach 10. The craft would then return and land on a runway by the launch site."
Re:Maybe someone should tell them... (Score:2, Funny)
Damn it, we've been doing this rocketry thing the hard way.
The easy way is just to "ignore gravity"!
(Yes, I know what you mean, but it is more fun this way :)
One faster (Score:2, Funny)
Well you could you know, make it one faster, you know go up to Mach eleven. Well, it's one faster, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, the Russians, you know, will be launching at Mach ten. You're on Mach ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on Mach ten on your magnetic sled. Where can you go from there? Where? Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? Mach Eleven. Exactly. One faster.
Re:Put the railgun in orbit (Score:4, Funny)
... in which case Newton's Laws would adequately describe the reasons why your ultra-expensive orbital mass driver is now an ultra-expensive meteor shower.
Re:Maybe someone should tell them... (Score:3, Funny)
NASA should hire people with surprising bodies and/or opinions to jump out and reveal/explain them, providing a needed distraction at the critical moment.
Re:Well, this is not a (Score:5, Funny)
True, but you do have the potential to turn ponies into rainbows...
Re:Well, this is not a (Score:3, Funny)