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Member
Posts: 35
| Our manned space exploration has come to a pathetic stop. One of the obstacles is cost. In this article the author (nuclear engineer) suggests we scrap the fuel tanks (some of them) and instead stick the space shuttle in a long tube (underground or underwater) and fire it off like cannon or bottle rocket. Saves money, and get this... it is safer.
We need more of these kinds of ideas and we need to be trying them. If the US government wants to abandon space (with the exception of the military, of course) then let's get some private citizens, public corporations, x-prize types, and entrepreneurs to do the work instead. More ideas please!
http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2011/05/27/launch_space_shuttles_like_bottle_rockets_106241.html
"The smartest way to access space is by use of a launch tube. A few grams of explosive can launch an equal mass of projectile to supersonic velocities by virtue of the contained expansion of combustion products. By launching a rocket from a several-mile-long hole in the ground or concrete tube in the ocean, a space bound projectile can be afforded a considerable amount of forward velocity which allows for significantly simpler, cheaper, and safer launch vehicles." |
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Uber User
Posts: 202
Location: Sacramento, California | Interesting idea. Like a gun. The expense isn't in the bullet. That's cheap. It's in the reusable device that launches the bullet. |
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Member
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Apropos, today's editorial cartoon.
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Uber User
Posts: 237
Location: Grootfontein, Namibia | Something like Simak's "Time is the Simplest Thing" springs to mind  |
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Admin
Posts: 4005
Location: Dallas, Texas | Emil - 2011-06-03 2:40 PM Something like Simak's "Time is the Simplest Thing" springs to mind 
This is the first thing that came to my mind! Sounds like an interesting concept though nothing new. I suppose the technology exists by now or could be created to make this possible but I doubt we'll be getting away from rockets anytime soon. I say we do whatever it takes to get back in the game!
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Bottle Rocket the Space Shuttle into Orbit