As I understand it the initial motion of the rocket launch is the most energy intensive. Why is there not some propulsion method (electromagnetic or old skool motors) that assist with pushing the spacecraft up. This would also reduce the fuel load?
Basically, why do we not slingshot the craft up and let the onboard fuel take it the rest of the way once it’s got some momentum, even if it’s the first 100 meters?
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What you’re thinking of is a [non-rocket launch](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-rocket_spacelaunch), and there’s a lot of different methods proposed. Some of them are more practical than others, but theoretically offer a lot of advantages over rockets.
As to why we still use rockets? It comes down to the fact that we know *a lot* about them. After all, we’ve been developing them for almost a century and have a great deal of experience with their design and operation.
As a result, it’s preferable to engineer a traditional rocket propulsion system than it is a non-rocket system that requires vast amounts of engineering and money to create.
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