A preliminary study funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research suggests it may be possible to press the technology used in particle accelerators into service as a launcher. Such a launcher could only be used for payloads capable of surviving 2,000G acceleration, but could cost as little as $745 per kilogram at high launch rates. Throwing supplies and construction materials into orbit in this way could greatly reduce the cost of space operations.
The launch ring would be very similar to the particle accelerators used for physics experiments, with superconducting magnets placed around a 2-kilometre-wide ring.
The satellite, encased in an aerodynamic, cone-shaped shell that would protect it from the intense heat of launch, would be attached to a sled designed to respond to the forces from the superconducting magnets.
When the sled had been accelerated to its top speed of 10 kilometres per second, laser and pyrotechnic devices would be used to separate the cone from the sled. Then, the cone would skid into a side tunnel, losing some speed due to friction with the tunnel's walls.
The tunnel would direct the cone to a ramp angled at 30° to the horizon, where the cone would launch towards space at about 8 kilometres per second, or more than 23 times the speed of sound. A rocket at the back end of the cone would be used to adjust its trajectory and place it in a proper orbit.
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