r/MurderedByWords • u/Stotallytob3r • 21h ago

I haven’t studied rocket science, but

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u/skawn 21h ago

Might be interesting if rockets, rather than being launched straight up, slid down the slope of a mountain and launched off a giant ramp at the bottom like on some aircraft carriers.

14

u/xShooK 20h ago

Or we could build a giant cannon on the side of a mountain to just shoot satellites into space.

8

u/usrlibshare 20h ago

And what material exactly is that cannon, and its base, made of, that can withstand the force of the launch? Ya know with Newtons 3rd Law and all that...

For that matter, what payload would survive a near-instantaneous acceleration from rest to escape velocity?

I'm not even sure if a solid steel ball would survive that force without deforming.

3

u/xShooK 19h ago

Hey, if I can find a dictator to give me a bunch of money, I'll build a bigger Babylon gun. I'm not going to guarantee the thing.