Slashdot Mirror
A Space Cannon That Might Actually Work
Unequivocal writes "Chalk another one up to Jules Verne. Physicist John Hunter is proposing a space cannon with a new design idea: it's mostly submerged. 'Many engineers have toyed with the [space cannon] concept, but nobody has came up with an actual project that may work. Hunter's idea is simple: Build a cannon near the equator, submerged in the ocean, hooked to a floating rig ... A system like this will cut launch costs from $5,000 per pound to only $250 per pound. It won't launch people into space because of the excessive acceleration, but those guys at the ISS can use it to order pizza and real ice cream.' Though it won't work on people, with launch costs that low, who cares?"
The last guy with a plan to build a super-cannon (a Canadian named Bull) did some work for Saddam Hussein. The Israelis didn't like that much, so they murdered him.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Here is an interesting "tech talk" at Google where John Hunter explains the workings of the cannon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IXYsDdPvbo
Wow, that article is horrid. They don't even mention Hunter's startup company: Quicklaunch. On that page you'll find his Google Tech Talk on the subject which answers many of the questions that people are asking here.
How we know is more important than what we know.
10 mins into the Google Tech Talk he gives a slide with the amortization cost per lb. About 20 mins in, he breaks the project up into phases and costs needed to complete each phase.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IXYsDdPvbo
It's worth watching the video for more info on G-Force hardening, Hydrogen re-capture, per-lb cost and project milestone/costs.
-Malakai
A Dragon Lives in my Garage
Do you realize just how far away the moon is from Earth?
This to-scale image should give you an idea of just how ridiculous this idea is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Speed_of_light_from_Earth_to_Moon.gif