Kurzgesagt - Why Earth Is A Prison and How To Escape It

[FunnyGamer]

[QUOTE=paul simon;51765555]Why not angle it though? You want to harness those sweet gravity turn savings.[/QUOTE]

He said it's a catapult so it probably swings to give it an arc.

[Merv]

[QUOTE=abcpea;51765207][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/1UF7TKB.png[/IMG]

This is my idea I think it is the best idea.[/QUOTE]

this would flatten the spacecraft! the launch tube is clearly not a vacuum

[Drury]

[QUOTE=Gray Altoid;51768903]He said it's a catapult so it probably swings to give it an arc.[/QUOTE]

No, you're thinking of space trebuchets.

[abcpea]

[QUOTE=ZombieWaffle;51768918]this would flatten the spacecraft! the launch tube is clearly not a vacuum[/QUOTE]

it wouldn't go fast enough to need it.
this is just a first-stage solution - the rocket still has to power itself the rest of the way out

[editline]3rd February 2017[/editline]

although a vacuum would improve energy efficiency

[Xentec]

The more we understand about our universe and our place in it, the more depressing it becomes. :cry:

[QUOTE=abcpea;51765207][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/1UF7TKB.png[/IMG]

This is my idea I think it is the best idea.[/QUOTE]

[thumb]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fvfhYyoUnsE/maxresdefault.jpg[/thumb]
[I]- artistic interpretation of said space gun[/I]

Now go play [URL="http://somagame.com/"]SOMA[/URL]

[Sims_doc]

[QUOTE=abcpea;51765207]Snip-O[/QUOTE]
That's actually a theory but it doesn't work both ways and only functions as a launching off point, a lift would be far more practical as you can dock with the counterweight and build ships in orbit while sending a continuous supply of resources needed to build it.

[Tinn]

[QUOTE=Bradyns;51760725]That's still a terribly inefficient solution.[/QUOTE]

What we need is space-time warping tech or a space driver, an engine that doesn't rely on mass propulsion to reach orbit. The stuff magic is made of.

I doubt there is anything else that could be called efficient within reason.