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To: blam
the intense g forces experienced during launch might damage the very satellites being lofted into space.

Thats why you only use it for cargo. You need a larger ring and a longer windup for fragile cargos such as humans, and even then it may be pretty tough.

11 posted on 10/03/2006 3:09:02 PM PDT by marron
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To: marron
Thats why you only use it for cargo. You need a larger ring and a longer windup for fragile cargos such as humans, and even then it may be pretty tough.

You don't say!

Curvature radius of at least 1000 miles, so you might as well make it straight.

Then, you still have the problem of getting any appreciable positive z-dot (vertical velocity), on a launch ramp of workable size, without mashing the occupants into dinosaur cartilege.

34 posted on 10/03/2006 4:34:09 PM PDT by Erasmus (I invited Benoit Mandelbrot to the Shoreline Grill, but he never got there.)
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