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Wednesday, September 8, 2021
CONTINUITY: Gun Launch to Earth Orbit
An SDI-era paper assessing the Gun-Launch-To-Space technology to send the Brilliant Pebble fleet into orbit being applied to commercial 100-1000 kg smallsat business.
— ToughSF (@ToughSf) September 4, 2021
With hypersonic lift and ablative nosecones, $30/kg would have been possible.https://t.co/z8cUkaRyvu pic.twitter.com/2Nlaz2DpD3
The 1991 paper, “A revolution in access to space through spinoffs of SDI technology” is, thirty years later, behind an IEEE paywall because, of course, it's only fair that the taxpayers who paid for this research should have to fork over US$33 to a private organisation in order to read it. Fortunately, Sci-Hub rides to the rescue with the full text.
Posted at September 8, 2021 11:10