

How about a massive catapult to replace the space shuttle  - hhm
http://blog.dotphys.net/2008/08/how-about-a-massive-catapult-to-replace-the-space-shuttle/

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cperciva
Aside from the problem discussed in the article of squishing people by
accelerating them at hundreds of g, there's a more fundamental problem with a
"launch X into orbit by shooting it very fast" approach: Trajectory. An object
in freefall (which your ballistics are once they leave your gun / catapult /
linear accelerator / etc) with a bounded trajectory (i.e., doesn't escape
Earth's gravity entirely) travels in an elliptical path. If one point on that
path is on the earth's surface... well, there's 3 more points on the earth's
surface, too.

In order to reach orbit, you MUST add angular momentum. And until we have a
space elevator, that means rockets.

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hhm
Thank you for your interesting comment.

