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NASA Looks At Railgun-Like Rocket Launcher

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the spent-all-day-playing-ctf dept.

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."

2 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Put the railgun in orbit by X0563511 · · Score: 3, 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.

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  2. Re:Well, this is not a by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah but going mach 10 at ground level isn't exactly rainbows and ponies either...

    True, but you do have the potential to turn ponies into rainbows...

    --
    If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?