Hurling Satellites Into Space Seems Crazy—but Might Just Work

I have to assume that someone, like NASA or JPL would have already crunched the physics on this idea, and if doable, maybe we would have heard about it? I am skeptical, but would like to know what the amazing people at NASA and JPL think.
 
Talking about hurling satellites into space but not talking about space garbage seems like the wrong way to go about it lol.
 
I have to assume that someone, like NASA or JPL would have already crunched the physics on this idea, and if doable, maybe we would have heard about it? I am skeptical, but would like to know what the amazing people at NASA and JPL think.

Yeah, it's not like it's a new idea.

The first time I ever read about it was "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Heinlein. That was written in 1966. Apparently it was mentioned as a way to launch a spacecraft in a book from 1897... "A Trip to Venus" by John Munro.

I. "We could even have an electric gun. Conceive a bobbin wound with insulated wire in lieu of thread, and having the usual hole through the axis of the frame. If a current of electricity be sent through the wire, the bobbin will become a hollow magnet or 'solenoid,' and a plug of soft iron placed at one end will be sucked into the hole. In this experiment we have the germ of a solenoid cannon. The bobbin stands for the gun-barrel, the plug for the bullet-car, and the magnetism for the ejecting force. We can arrange the wire and current so as to draw the plug or car right through the hole or barrel, and if we have a series of solenoids end to end in one straight line, we can switch the current through each in succession, and send the projectile with gathering velocity through the interior of them all. In practice the barrel would consist of a long straight tube, wide and strong enough to contain the bullet-car without flexure, and begirt with giant solenoids at intervals. Each of the solenoids would be excited by a powerful current, one after the other, so as to urge the projectile with accelerating speed along the tube, and launch it into the vast."

Pretty insane.
 
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Guys, having run engineering at a startup in the past, DO NOT believe anything an early stage startup claims they can (or even worse, "will be able to") do. They all exaggerate, it's an expectation in their line of work. If they did not exaggerate, nobody would pay attention, and they would not be able to raise funding. Only believe any of this when they actually launch stuff into orbit successfully a few times. Until then it's pure bovine manure to impress potential investors.
 
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