Well, I’ve always asked myself why can’t we use some kind of train or catapult to help the rockets to save fuel or to go further. Can anyone explain me why?
In: Engineering
Same reason that we don’t build launch sites on mountaintops. The energy it takes to achieve *altitude* is a rounding error compared to the energy it takes to achieve the necessary *speed*.
Consider the projectile that comes out of a 16-inch battleship gun: make it go *ten times* as fast, and you can put it into orbit. Try that with a catapult.
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