A mass launcher is any device that shoots a payload into space through a launch system based on the ground. Backed by grants from the space studies institute, later prototypes improved on the mass driver concept, showing that a mass driver only 520 feet 160 meters long could launch material off the. Constructed in 1976 and 1977, mass driver 1 was an early demonstration of the concept of the mass driver, a form of electromagnetic launcher, which in principle could also be configured as a rocket motor, using asteroidal materials for reaction mass and energized by solar or other electric power. A mass driver, or electromagnetic catapult, is a spacelaunch. The operating principle of the mass driver is essentially the same as that of the magnetic accelerator cannon. The mass driver was studied extensively for missions of this type, during three nasa ames summer studies in 1975, 1976, and 1977 billingham, gilbreath, and o. A large, groundbased mass driver could be used to launch spacecraft away from earth, the moon, or another body. A number of alternatives to expendable rockets have been proposed. Im assuming the mass driver is at 35 degrees latitude. Sources atte walker in the encyclopedia content now obsolete. Magnetic weapons show up throughout the escape velocity series.
A main part of the book surrounds the discussion on reallife technologies including space habitats and mass driver. Space engineers high gravity mass accelerator youtube. The ram accelerator is a chemically powered hypervelocity mass driver that operates with intube propulsive cycles similar to airbreathing ramjets and scramjets. The mass driver weapon in the first game is suggested to be a railgun or coilgun, and in nova railguns are one of the primary weapons of the aurorans. First attempt to make a mass driver weapon out of this concept. This company wants to catapult rockets into space vice. Well i have a question, if we would already have the device that uses electromagnetic force to propel a capsule or whatever object like a satellite into space, now unlike a. This space shouldnt be treated as spacelaunchers hotkey.
As all but perhaps a few of the newest l5 members know, mass drivers are electromagnetic launchers which accelerate payloads in recirculating buckets with. Heres how well get from earth to space in the future. Mass driver launches would make more sense from a smaller body with no atmosphere, such as the moon. Constructed in 1976 and 1977, mass driver 1 was an early demonstration of the concept of the mass driver, a form of electromagnetic launcher, which in principle could also be configured as a rocket motor, using. Oneill worked at mit on mass drivers, working with henry h.
A massdriver cannon was a heavy projectile cannon turretmounted upon the dorsal surface of walkers, such as the atte and atap. Why isnt alternative space launch technology like mass. In the gundam series, it used mostly to send people and materials from a planet into space. In other words, a giant space gun that shoots shipping containers. On the front lines, atte walker in the databank backup link. One thing that got me wondering however, is what inclinations you can launch into. The mass driver is a united nations space command weapon system and orbital launch assembly. Electromagnetically launched space vehicles are an old dream. Backed by grants from the space studies institute, later prototypes improved on the concept, showing that a mass driver only 520 feet 160 meters long could launch material off the surface of the.
May 12, 2010 us navys planehurling mass driver in tech hiccup. The 200 mm railgun is particularly good, having the best range of any primary weapon and a. Universal century mass drivers are located both on earth and on the moon to propel spacecrafts. A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of nonrocket spacelaunch that would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds.
Mass drivers can be used to propel spacecraft in two different ways. Also known as an electromagnetic catapult, a mass driver acts. Another variation would have a massive facility on a. It always pays to be prepared, and if misfortune ever does strike, youre going to be glad you have an apocalypse arms strife mass driver handy. Space exploration stack exchange is a question and answer site for spacecraft operators, scientists, engineers, and enthusiasts. This made the rounds easily outrun at stl speeds in space by virtually any craft under certain conditions. The projectile used is on the heavy side weighing in at over 4 ounces. Aug 10, 20 well i have a question, if we would already have the device that uses electromagnetic force to propel a capsule or whatever object like a satellite into space, now unlike a rocket this device would propel the object needed to carry to space in one certain direction at a given angle, now once.
A small mass driver could be on board a spacecraft, flinging pieces of material into space to propel itself. A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of nonrocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads. Kolm and a group of student volunteers to construct a mass driver prototype. Us navys planehurling mass driver in tech hiccup the.
The mass driver is like a gun without the explosive gunpowder. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Here, we update the leml concept based on what has been recently proposed for nasa exploration systems, and on. A lunar electromagnetic launch system for insitu resource. The mass launcher uses a flat spiral coil arranged with a vertical flyway and wooden support base. Could moon miners use railguns to launch ore into space. The 200 mm railgun is particularly good, having the best range of any primary weapon and a lot of damage. Have any space agency attempt to space launch using technology different than chemical propulsion. Concepts for mass drivers or railguns situated on the moon exist what youre asking about is a mass driver space station in low earth orbit that a payload or ship launched from earth can dock with, and then be propelled into deep space.
Once in space, the ore could be used as raw material for building space colonies and solar power satellites. Its geometry is a flat aluminum washer that is of the same size as the coil. Mass driver development has been pursued by a dedicated group, first at two nasa ames summer studies in 1976 and 1977, and during the intervening academic year, while oneill was a visiting professor at mit. The launcher consists of a long tube filled with a pressurized gaseous fueloxidizer mixture in which a subcaliber projectile having the shape similar to that. A large, groundbased mass driver can be used to launch spacecraft away from the earth or another planet or moon, or a spacecraft could have a mass driver on board, ejecting large pieces of material into space to propel itself. Variable warhead mass driver canister firing mechanism.
The upfront construction cost is listed as 20 billion in 2010. Nawprfmd02b bulldog rapid fire mass driver on star army. The proposed launch system, called startram, doesnt use rockets or rocket fuel, but instead is based on the concept of a mass driver. The idea of a mass driver is that when a payload is accelerated to a speed greater than the escape velocity of the moon 2. In some systems such as a combination launch system, skyhook, rocket sled launch, rockoon, or air launch, a rocket. The most exciting thing we learned is that mass drivers can be used to launch space cargo from earth. A mass driver, or electromagnetic catapult, is a space launch. Most launch vehicles take off from sites on land, although a few are air or sealaunched. Discussion why isnt alternative space launch technology like mass driver a choice in space industry. Mass drivers can be used to propel spacecraft in three different ways.
To function as a launch base, a particular location has to have facilities for assembling the launch vehicle, handling its fuel, preparing a spacecraft for launch, mating the spacecraft and launch vehicle, and checking them out for launch readiness. Electromagnetic mass drivers using solar power could provide lowcost transportation of materials to space construction sites. The mass driver shoots a large number of small payloads, continuously, rather than an occasional large payload. Ablation is always within a tolerable range for schemes using a mass driver launcher to dispose of nuclear wastes outside the solar system. Mass drivers can also be used as ground based launch platforms, to catapult payloads out of a gravity well, without the need for rockets that require large amounts of fuel. Ked7w3900 mass launcher on star army space roleplay. In a rocket system the launcher costs essentially nothing whereas in a railgun. A mass driver, or electromagnetic catapult, is a spacelaunch method that uses a linear motor to accelerate payloads to extremely high speeds. To launch a space vehicle with humans on board, a mass driver s track would need to be several hundreds of kilometers long if providing almost all the velocity to low earth orbit, though a lesser length could. The mass driver will eventually become the main means of supplying material from the moon to industry in orbital space, though not in the early years of space development. Kolm, and a group of student volunteers to construct their first mass driver prototype. Electromagnetic mass driver space launch physics forums.
Us navys planehurling mass driver in tech hiccup the register. Electromagnetic mass driver space launch thread starter crazymechanic. When talking about nonrocket space launch, specifically, launching things from earth into space one idea that comes up often and then gets. A magnetic decoupler unfastens the feed chain from around the canister and a second magnetic device rapidly and accurately loads the round into the precharged barrel, decoupled feed links are discarded out of the weapon from the bottom of the launcher. This geometry provides maximum coupling and optimizes electric to kinetic efficiency. The mass driver was proposed as a means for launching raw materials payloads of 1 10 kg size at launch rates of 110 per second from a lunar base to a construction site in space. Sequential firing of a row of electromagnets accelerates the payload along a path.
What we know about spinlaunch, a company created in secret four years ago. Space engineers high gravity mass accelerator alex a. This would eliminate the need for capacitors and feeder lines, thereby reducing the system mass, cost and complexity. Mar 23, 2017 space engineers high gravity mass accelerator alex a. A vehicle launched by a mass driver would have to attain orbital velocity over just a few miles which would still make for a very long, very expensive mass driver system. On earth, a mass driver design could possibly use welltested maglev components. I also connected it with both rotors and landing gear to make it a bit more flexib. Mass drivers are possibly the most practical option for nonrocket space launch. Examples of how to use mass driver in a sentence from the cambridge dictionary labs. The chiakis ked7w3200 mass driver gun was considerably costcut over the plumerias kes3w2901 positron accelerator cannons that it was meant to emulate, to the point of being fired at 0. The apocalypse arms strife mass driver is a s2 physical projectile ship to ship weapon store description. A mass driver, or electromagnetic catapult, is a space launch method that uses a linear motor to accelerate payloads to extremely high speeds. A mass driver cannon was a heavy projectile cannon turretmounted upon the dorsal surface of walkers, such as the atte and atap.
Concepts for massdrivers or railguns situated on the moon exist what youre asking about is a mass driver space station in low earth orbit that a payload or ship launched from earth can dock with, and then be propelled into deep space. Nawprfmd02b bulldog rapid fire mass driver on star. A mass launcher that uses magnetic force to launch like a railgun may sometimes be called a mass driver. Mar, 2012 the proposed launch system, called startram, doesnt use rockets or rocket fuel, but instead is based on the concept of a mass driver. The mass driver has been a popular lunar launch concept, largely due to promotion, research and development by the space studies institute ssi. Kinetic launchers are a bigger, slowerfiring version of the mass driver that is capable of launching very big and very powerful solid projectiles over extreme distances with a large degree of accuracy. Nonrocket spacelaunch refers to concepts for launch into space where some or all of the needed speed and altitude are provided by something more powerful or other than rockets, or by other than expendable rockets. All existing and contemplated mass drivers use coils of wire energized by electricity to make electromagnets. Apr 12, 2017 could moon miners use railguns to launch ore into space. Ablation and deceleration of massdriver launched projectiles. What size payloads could we feasibly launch from the moon with a mass driver.
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